This used to be my playground
by mabelreid
Summary: Two girls have been taken and killed. The third is missing in Las Vegas. The team returns to Reid's home town and they discover that the third child is the daughter of Reid's oldest childhood friend. ReidOFC
1. Kayla and Jessie

_A/n the inspiration for this title came from the song from Madonna of the same name. This will follow cannon up to "Seven Seconds." There will be no apperance of the Joe Mantegna character because I know nothing about him yet. I will be guessing at where Reid is academically from the ages of six to nine so please bear with me. Let me know what you think._

_Disclaimer: I own only my own original characters._

_**Kayla and Jessie**_

The tall man lifted a small bundle from his trunk and held it close his chest for a few moments. He inhaled the smell of the tiny child's corn silk hair. It still held the scent of baby shampoo and milk.

The moonlight fell on the face of a beautiful little girl with green eyes and blond hair. He'd cleaned her body and brushed her hair till it glowed in the white light of the moon.

The housing development was deserted. They were still building the houses that would shelter the rich and undeserving of Las Vegas. The trunk shut with a low clunk. He walked across the dirt road to the nearly completed home at the edge of the development. He stepped over and around broken bricks, a discarded two by four, and a half empty bag of concrete mix and the myriad of other debris at the work site.

He moved through the doorway. The home was completely enclosed; he didn't want the elements or animals to get the child before she could be found. She must be in pristine condition for the police. They would see how he'd taken care of her.

He knelt and lay the child down in the hallway just inside the door. The darkness embraced them both as though the blackness were a lover. He stayed next to the girl, listening to the breeze sigh around the edges of the house. Eventually, his eyes adjusted to the dark and he could just make out the outline of the small body next to him. He reached out and touched her cheek. She was still warm and her face was smooth as butter under the gloves he wore.

It was with genuine regret that he got up from his knees and left the house, shutting the door behind him. He needed to get out of there, it would be past midnight now and it wouldn't do to leave the car in plain sight for too long.

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"Jessie," Kayla Rogers hollered up to the little girl lying on the landing at the top of the stairs. "Dinner is ready, I won't tell you again!"

"Okay mommy," Jessie yelled back.

She got to her feet and ran down the upstairs hallway to her room. She laid her box of crayons and her pad of drawing paper on the desk next to her dresser.

Kayla was dishing macaroni and cheese onto two plates when Jessie entered the kitchen and sat down at the table in the breakfast nook.

"Did you finish your homework?" Kayla asked, adding some broccoli to the plates.

"Yes mommy. Do I have to eat that?" Jessie made a horrible face at the little green broccoli trees on her plate.

"Yes… it's good for you." Kayla said solemnly.

The little girl frowned, and then she brightened up and grinned up at her mother. Her hazel eyes were full of mischief.

"Mommy… I made this for you." She handed Kayla the piece of paper she had brought down to the table.

Kayla took the drawing from her daughter and looked it over. It was their home from the outside. There were three figures in front of the drawing. It was Jessie and Kayla and their cat Patches. It was colorful and beautifully drawn. Jessie was showing a talent for drawing and painting. She'd given Jessie a watercolor set for her sixth birthday and her work covered the outside of the refrigerator.

"This is wonderful baby… but it won't get you out of eating that broccoli. Nice try at a bribe though, you make me proud." Kayla said beginning to chuckle at the grimace on her daughters face.

"Okay…" the little girl said. She seemed to think that eating the vegetables was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. Kayla knew better than that.

_(shut up you little bitch, there's no food for you today.)_

_The crack of the slap to her face was a ghost in her head, but she felt it anyway. How many times did she go hungry to bed? _

"Mommy… I'm sorry. I'll eat it… I promise." the fright in her little girls voice broke though the memory of her childhood. She put down her fork and leaned over to hug her daughter.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm not mad at you. There's chocolate cake for you if you eat the broccoli." Kayla smoothed down her daughters platinum blond hair and smiled.

"Yay…" Jessie began to eat her broccoli as fast as she could.

"Hey… slow down… you'll choke." Kayla said, trying not to laugh at her daughter's new enthusiasm.

Jessie slowed down from eating at the speed of light to a more sedate pace. She told her mother all about school as they finished the meal.

After they finished with the clean-up, Kayla took Jessie to the living room. They curled up on the dark brown leather couch and Jessie read her reading assignment to her mother.

"Okay baby… it's time for bed." Kayla said when the book was finished.

"Oh… do I have to?" Jessie whined.

"Yes… you have school tomorrow."

"Oh alright," The girl stomped out of the room and Kayla smiled to herself. Jessie never stayed mad at her for long.

Several minutes later a small voice called out. "Mommy… will you tell me a story."

Jessie was in bed, dressed in her favorite pink pajamas and waiting patiently for her story.

"Okay my beauty; what do you want to hear tonight?"

"I want to hear the one about the princess and the knight."

"Well that's a surprise." Kayla said rubbing the girl's arms as she sat down next to the girl. "You've asked to hear that one every night for the last week.

"Please…"

"Okay. Once upon a time there was a little girl. She lived in a place called Las Vegas."

"Is it the same Las Vegas as where we live now?" Jessie interrupted…

"Yes… it's the same city. Now listen close." Kayla said.

"The princess was the same age as you when she met the knight. He was six years old too, but he was very different from the princess. He was very smart and he was good and kind. He and the princess played together. The princess didn't have a mother that loved her. Her mother was unkind and made the princess do everything around the house.

"Like Cinderella?" Jessie asked her eyes wide.

"Yes… like Cinderella." It had been so much worse than that, but Kayla couldn't tell Jessie just how bad it had been.

"The knight was so smart that even though he was the same age as the princess, he went to different classes in a higher grade. The older kids didn't like him in their classes and they were very mean to him. The princess was his only friend and he was her only friend. They were best friends and stood up for one another.

Many years passed and when they were ten the princess had to move away. She wrote to the knight for a long time, but soon they lost touch. One day the princess saw the knight again and since they were all grown up, the knight married the princess and they lived happily ever after with a little blond green-eyed girl."

"Mommy… why did the princess and the knight stop talking to each other?" Jessie's quizzical look was a knife to Kayla's heart. How could she explain?

"Sometimes friends don't stay friends. People grow up and they change." Kayla said evasively and truthfully while Jessie played with the teddy bear next to her on the bed.

"I'm always gonna be best friends with Cindy." Jessie informed her mother very seriously.

"I know baby… I know… but sometimes things don't always work out the way we want them to. If you want to stay friends with Cindy for your whole life, it'll take lots of hard work."

"I'm never… ever… going to stop being friends with Cindy."

Jessie looked up at her mother and her guileless hazel eyes seemed to read Kayla's soul. Kayla leaned in to hug the girl so she didn't have to look at her. She kissed Jessie's cheek and the little girl said suddenly, "I like that story mommy, is it true?"

Kayla was still hugging the girl, so Jessie didn't see a tear fall from her mother's face.

_No baby… it's not true. You don't live happily ever after in real life._

She wanted to say that, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. "Of course sweetie, now it's time for you to go to sleep."

Jessie closed her eyes and her mother turned off the lights in the room and shut the door as she left. Kayla headed to her room and fell on her bed crying. Why was she still hurting after all these years had passed? Why couldn't she do the mature, responsible adult thing and forget? How many more times could she tell that story before she broke down completely and scared her little girl?

She rolled back over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts went where they always did these days, back to the reasons why she had stopped talking to him. She tried to suppress the urge to go to the closet of her room and take out the box that sat hidden there. Her mind tried to latch onto other random thoughts, but it was no use. Her hands were taking the box out of the back of the closet before she realized she had gotten off the bed.

It was a shoe box full of letters. She pulled them out of the box and sat on the floor. The box also held a small ring, tarnished and old. It had a round piece of red glass set into the band. It had turned her finger green the first time she wore it. Now the gold was worn away and it was too small for her finger. There was a pink hair ribbon, worn and wrinkled lying at the bottom of the box. The last item was a strip of photos taken at one of those photo booths that gave you five for a dollar. The picture showed a small blond girl next to a thin, dark haired boy with horn rimmed glasses and dark, beautiful eyes. They were smiling and making faces. They looked happy. She held the pictures to her breast and began to cry again.

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Kayla Rogers finished putting her hair up into the butterfly clip. She smoothed down the front of the suit jacket she wore and dabbed at her lipstick.

"Jessie! You're going to be late."

What was that girl doing? It was seven am, and both of them needed to have breakfast before leaving the house.

She went to Jessie's room and knocked impatiently. "Mommy I can't find my shoes!"

"Did you look in the closet?" There was a long pause and Kayla was just about to open the door when Jessie came out, grinning at her mother.

"I forgot to look in the closet." she declared. Her purple blouse and denim skirt were so cute on her that Kayla couldn't stay mad.

"If you'd put them in the closet instead of under your bed, you could find them in the morning." She scolded the girl gently as she walked and Jessie hopped down the stairs.

"You're going to fall on of these days." Kayla said walking to the cabinet to get some bowls and cereal out for breakfast. Jessie never walked down the stairs she ran, skipped or hopped. Kayla would give anything to have her energy.

Jessie just giggled as if this was the most absurd thing she had ever heard and soon she was eating enthusiastically.

"Can I have more coco puffs Mommy?" She asked showing her mother the empty bowl.

"No… that's quite enough for one morning. Help me clean up and load the dishwasher, we're going to be late."

"Ah… mom," Jessie moaned and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Not today Jessie," Kayla warned sternly.

"Okay…" The girl stomped around picking up dishes and giving them to Kayla to rinse and load.

"Stop pouting princess!" Kayla said picking up her purse and keys.

Jessie was still frowning when they got into the car and Kayla backed out of the driveway. They lived in a suburb of Las Vegas. It was a new community with a school just three blocks down the road. Jessie complained on the way there that she could walk with Cindy, but Kayla said no. It was the same argument they had every day.

"Just because Cindy's mother thinks its okay for a six year old to walk around alone, doesn't mean I'll let you do the same."

"I'm not a baby!" Jessie shouted.

"Stop yelling this instant Jessie Rogers. You two girls are too young to walk to school by yourselves and that's final!" She parked the car and Jessie yanked off her seat belt and got out of the car.

"Good bye Jessie, I'll pick you up after school."

The little girl ran up the steps to the school without saying goodbye and Kayla sighed. Why had she lost her temper? Was she just like her mother? Was she too paranoid because of…? She shook her head and put the car into gear. She wouldn't think of that, not now. Jessie would get over it.

Kayla Rogers would live to regret those words. Jessie was gone by three thirty that afternoon, vanished into thin air and no one knew how or why.


	2. Going Home

_Disclaimer: I own only my own characters._

_**Going Home **_

The late October air was crisp and energizing. He put one foot in front of the other, running down the sidewalk that paralleled Springer Lane. The sun was just going down over the horizon. The light was funneling through the red leaves on the trees next to him. The air was a combination of ozone from the rain storm in the late hours of the afternoon, and the smell of exhaust from the cars that passed him on their way home.

He looked at the watch strapped around the arm of the sweat shirt he wore. It was seven fifteen. He needed to turn around and get back home. His breath plumed out in little white clouds as he approached an intersection. The light was with him and he crossed. He turned north, waited for the light and crossed again. He completed the three point turn by heading east.

Morgan had been right when he said that a run helped to clear his head. He had decided to try it a couple of weeks ago when Gideon left. He spent the forty five minutes it took for him to complete the run to try and sort out how he was feeling. The last nine months had been the worst in his life, between the drugs and his kidnapping and now Gideon was gone. How many times had he wanted to give up, run away from his job and go hide in academia? There were even times he'd wanted to end his life and be done with it, but something always stopped him.

He looked up to see his apartment complex ahead and he was glad. The run had done its job. His head was clear and he was ready for a long hot shower, some coco and a book before going to bed early. He passed by his neighbor, Mrs. Fenton, when the elevator doors slid open.

"Oh… hello Dr Reid," She said distractedly as he got on the elevator and she got off. She had her cell phone in one ear and a large bag in the other.

"Can't talk now… see ya later?" She charged around him, her small plump body moving faster then he thought possible for legs that short. Her long silver streaked red hair flew out behind her as she headed for her car.

The doors to the elevator closed and he watched the light flick on and off, counting off the floors as it rose. He was just getting out on his floor when his phone rang. He pulled it out and heaved a disappointed sigh at the number on the caller id.

"Reid," He answered irritably. "Yeah… okay…. I'll be there as quick as I can."

Damn it! An emergency call back in the evening was never a good thing. He wondered where they were off to this time. How bad would the case be? He unlocked his door, went inside and down the hallway to his bedroom, stripping off the tee shirt he wore. His sweat pants and boxers came next and he took a quick warm shower instead of the long hot one he'd been dreaming about.

The team was fully assembled when he got back to the bull pen forty five minutes later. Well fully assembled wasn't true, Gideon was gone and he wondered if that pang he felt every time he walked past Gideon's office and realized he was never coming back would ever go away. He stopped off for a cup of coffee before heading up to the briefing room.

"Hey kid, they tell you why it was so important to get back here tonight. I had a beautiful babe waiting for me that I had to disappoint," Morgan was saying while Reid poured copious amounts of sugar into the lovely smelling coffee.

"Nope… I imagine it's pretty important." He followed Morgan up the stairs to the catwalk leading to the conference room.

"It better be. She was fine." Morgan complained and Reid smirked behind his back. Morgan always complained about being interrupted on a date, but he always put it aside to do the job. Why couldn't he do that is easily as his friend could? The entered the room and Hotch, JJ and Emily were already there with Garcia and her laptop.

"We have a little girl missing in Las Vegas." JJ informed the group after Reid and Morgan took their places at the table.

"How long," Morgan asked.

"Her mother dropped her off for school at eight this morning. When Kayla Rogers got there at three thirty, the girl was gone."

JJ called up a picture of Jessie Rogers on the white board. She had shoulder length platinum blond hair. Her eyes were green and she was smiling, one of her front teeth was missing in the picture.

"What about the girl's father?" Emily asked.

"We don't know where he is." JJ explained, now the picture was showing a large two story house with green shutters over the windows and a riot of colorful flowers around it.

"Did you say Kayla Rogers?" Reid asked, his voice rising to a squeak.

"Yeah… what is it Spence?" JJ frowned at him.

"Ah - nothing… the name sounded familiar but… it's nothing."

_(don't worry Kayla, we'll always be friends)_

"Reid… you sure you're okay." Hotch asked.

"Yeah… it's nothing." Well that was as far from the truth as you could get, but the others didn't need to know that.

"Okay… our backs are against the wall on this, we have to assume that we only have about twelve and a half hours to find her." Hotch reminded them "Wheels up in thirty minutes."

Hotch left the room followed by JJ and Morgan. "Hey Reid, what's going on?" Emily asked as they left the room.

"It's nothing Emily." He told her and he headed to his desk without another word to her. She stood looking at his retreating back for a moment before going to her own desk.

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The jet raced the sun west. The day was getting longer as the plane soared through the dark blue sky above the white clouds. They looked like fluffy cotton balls, really large cotton balls. The sky was getting lighter and lighter as they moved through the sky, but sunset was always right on the horizon.

Reid was sitting next to the window looking about at the clouds. His ears pricked up when JJ joined them. "I've got some new information. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" JJ asked Hotch as she sat down next to Reid.

"I've always been partial to bad news first." Hotch responded his usual grim stare.

"The bad news is that according to the VICAP computers, Jessie Rogers maybe the third victim of a child killer that has been operating in the western United States. The first victim we know of was Kendall Grant. She went missing from her school one year ago in Durango Colorado. Her body was found three days later in a new housing community. The home wasn't finished and her body was found by the job site foreman. The second victim, Sarah Hamlin disappeared six months ago from Mount Pleasant Utah. She went missing between school and home. She was found on another job site by the foreman.

All the victims fit the same physical profile. All of the children were from single parent homes. The coroner's findings in both cases show no marks on the body. The girls were killed by a lethal dose of aspirin."

"Why aspirin, that's a new one on me." Morgan said, tossing his case file on the table in front of him.

"It's a horrible way for a child to die. The symptoms of Aspirin poisoning include hyperactivity, fever, convulsions, rapid breathing, or respiratory failure. You could also experience ringing in the ears, deafness, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, hallucinations and drowsiness." Reid said yanking his eyes away from the sky outside his window.

"Jesus…" Morgan whistled.

The others were soberly silent for a moment then Hotch asked. "Why wasn't this connection made before now?"

"As you know, when crimes such as these are committed, the detectives input the information into the VICAP computer. Sometimes the details aren't entered correctly, or the information doesn't get entered quickly, or the program doesn't put together a pattern till there are enough victims." Reid said clinically, his eyes on the photo of Jessie JJ had given him with the file folder.

Morgan made a rude comment about computers and patterns. "We need to talk to the families of the other victims." He said, looking at Hotch.

"Yeah… we do. I hate to split up the team since were short a profiler, but we don't have a choice, we need to know more about the other victims. Morgan… I want you and Emily to go talk to the families. Reid and I will talk to Kayla Rogers. JJ you said you had good news."

"Oh… just that it looks like we have more time to find Jessie." She looked hopefully at Hotch.

"Maybe… but there's no telling what this guy will do this time, I hope you're right."

JJ stood and went to the back of the plane for some coffee and Emily said. "He hasn't left us much to work with forensically. The coroner's reports on the previous deaths show that the un-sub cleaned up the girls and dressed them in brand new clothing before dumping the bodies. He leaves them in a place where the elements and animals can't get to them." She put her pen down on the file folder and glanced at Reid who was still staring at the photos in front of him.

"That speaks to remorse." Morgan said.

"Yeah, or it could just be an attempt to keep the police from finding him. Why poison the girls that way the then show remorse. It doesn't make sense." Hotch wondered aloud.

_How could anyone do that to a child?_

The others only looked at each other. Reid was the only one that didn't comment on the case. He was still engrossed in the picture, his chin resting on one hand as his eyes continually scanned the pictures.

"Reid… you with us?" Hotch asked.

"Ah - yeah… Sorry Hotch… I guess I'm not concentrating very well." Reid admitted, wondering if he should tell his boss what was really on his mind.

"I need your full concentration on this Reid."

"I know… I'm sorry. This un-sub has some knowledge of the area and the job sites. Maybe he works on site or he's an architect or inspector. There are a lot of people involved in a project like this. He seemed to know he wouldn't have trouble getting onto the sites and leaving the bodies."

"We've got out work cut out for us. JJ… can you talk to the detectives on this case and find out if they've talked to the men at the construction sites, maybe something popped."

JJ got up from her seat next to Reid and pulled out her cell phone. "I'll get right on it."

"Okay, what about Jessie Rogers, what did the teachers and the staff has to say at the school." Morgan wondered.

"Jessie and her friend Cynthia Irving were seen leaving the school together. Cynthia lives just a block away and the teachers said she walked home alone all the time." Hotch replied, perusing his file.

Emily's eyebrows winged into her forehead, "Who let's their kid walk home from school alone in this day and age?"

"It's only a block, why not." Morgan said. "The parents probably thought it was okay."

"Twenty percent of child abductions occur within a mile of their homes." Reid said in his usual matter of fact tone.

The pilot announced that they would be landing in Las Vegas in an hour. The team split up to apply their individual talents to the case. Reid was left sitting alone next to the window. He looked carefully around and noticed that the rest of the team was engrossed in their files.

He placed the photograph of Jessie Rogers on top of the file folder. The sun was getting lower on the horizon and its rays fell over her face. She looked the way that Reid remembered Kayla, but was she really Kayla's daughter? He pulled out his wallet and removed the strip of well worn black and white photographs. They showed a small, blond haired girl with green eyes and a beautiful smile. She was with a small boy with dark hair and eyes. He wore ugly horn rimmed glasses and he looked happy. The children in the photos had bruises on their faces, but they both smiled brightly and made faces for the camera. He laid the photo on the table next to the picture of Jessie. There was no denying it. This was Kayla's daughter. They were so alike as to be mistaken for twin sisters. It was eerie and his heart gave a painful thud.

He felt tears beginning to sting in his eye and he blinked them back furiously. He should tell Hotch. He had to tell Hotch. His boss wouldn't appreciate his silence. He couldn't tell Hotch. The team needed him and he couldn't risk getting taken of the case for personal involvement with the child's mother. He wasn't involved. She was the one that stopped writing to him. She was the one that broke off contact without explanation. He felt his eyes beginning to sting again, and he bit the inside of his mouth hard to clear them from his eyes. The pain helped and he thrust the pictures back into his wallet. He would do his job and go back home. He would get rid of the pictures and the letters he still kept and he would get on with his life. He was an adult and it was time to start acting like one, instead of praying that one day she would come back into his life.

"Reid… you okay." JJ had come back and sat next to him.

He raised his head from the photographs and tried out a big false smile for his friend, "Yeah… just thinking. I hate these kids of cases."

"Me too…. I can't figure out why someone would do this. I've watched you guys work these cases for years and done what I could to help, but they still get to me." She traced a hand over the face of Jessie Rogers and smiled at Reid.

"Well… if everyone treated each other with kindness we wouldn't have jobs." Reid said softly. He looked up into JJ's eyes and smiled sadly. "I can't say that wouldn't make me happy." JJ patted his arm and they spent the rest of the trip to Las Vegas sitting in comfortable silence.

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Hotch, JJ and Reid deplaned and met up with Detective Raymond Keene. He was medium height and black haired. His dark eyes were somber, but he smiled at the agents as they approached in the last rays of the sunset.

JJ extended a hand to the detective when they reached the end of the tarmac, and the SUV parked there waiting for them. "I'm Special Agent Jennifer Jareau and this SSA Hotchner and Dr. Reid. I spoke to you on the phone"

"Of course, I don't mind saying that I wish you didn't have to be here. I'm grateful for the help." He turned to lead them to the vehicle.

"Have you spoken to the mother?" Hotch asked.

"Yes… she was a little late getting to the school to pick up her daughter. She's working with senatorial candidate Stephen Allen Wainwright. He hired her to be his press representative. He's supposed to be one of the hottest new faces on the campaign scene."

"Are we looking at revenge for something? Could it be a copycat looking to make this look like other crimes?" Reid wondered, looking out the windows. He should have been happy to be home, but he wasn't.

"I don't think so. This case never made the national news." Hotch remarked.

"It will now. The daughter of a staffer of a senatorial candidate goes missing. My job just got a lot harder." JJ said. "Not that I mind, I can handle it. There's going to be a lot of pressure on you guys. I'll do what I can to keep the vultures away."

Hotch gave her a rare smile and the detective said. "We're already feeling the pressure. The chief made it clear to me that the Mayor and the Governor want this closed with all due speed."

The team looked at each other and sighed. It was hard enough looking for this kind of offender without the politicians breathing down their necks. The ride to the precinct was fairly short and they managed to miss rush hour traffic. The lights of the strip were never turned off, but now they began to glow in all of the colors of the rainbow. There were red, and green and gold lights pulsing off and on wherever the team looked. It was very disorienting.

They pulled into the parking lot of the police barracks and the team followed the detective into the bullpen, and then into the conference room that he'd reserved for them to set up in. JJ had just pulled out her phone when a tall woman with long blond hair and hazel eyes ran into the room, followed by a uniformed officer.

"Detective Keene… have you found anything -" She stopped dead and stared at Reid who'd gone white as paper.

"Ms Rogers… I told you I would call you when -"

Kayla Rogers yanked her arm away from the officer and ran up to Reid. "Spencer Reid… what are you doing here." She threw her arms around him while the rest of team stared in surprise.


	3. Memories

_A/n once again I must thank all of those people who have reviewed this story or added it to your alerts. Also many thanks to my wonderful beta REIDFANATIC for all of her help and encouragement. _

_Disclaimer: I own only my own original characters._

_**Memories**_

The ceiling over her head was very blurry when she opened her eyes. Her head was aching and she felt dizzy like the last time she went on the merry-go-round at the playground. There was a little bit of yellow light in the room, but it was mostly dark. She didn't like the dark except at home with mommy. She wasn't at home with her mommy. This room was different from her room at home. The windows didn't have pink curtains like her room. There were blinds instead, and they were closed. Her heart was pounding really hard and she felt sick like the last time she ate too much candy at Halloween. Her mother told her not to eat all the candy at once, but she had, and her stomach had hurt so badly. She had thrown up three times that night. She didn't want to throw up now, but her tummy really hurt.

Where was she and what had happened to her? She remembered walking home from school because she had a fight with Cindy. Her friend wanted her to walk home and Jessie told her that she had to wait for her mother. Cindy said she was a fraidy-cat and had left her alone. Jessie remembered what her mommy said about the princess and the knight. She didn't want Cindy to be mad at her and not be her friend anymore, so she started to follow Cindy down the street. She didn't remember what happened after that. She thought it was something that made her head hurt really bad.

She looked around and saw a door. She didn't want to be in this place anymore. It was scary in this room. Something bad was going to happen if she didn't go away from this place. She wanted her own room and her own stuffed bear, Mr. Giggles. She wanted her mommy very badly. Why didn't her mommy come take her away from this place? Was she bad, didn't her mommy love her anymore?

She tried to sit up, but her head hurt too badly and she had to stay where she was on the bed. There was a nightlight in the corner of the room. She sat very still for a long time crying because her head hurt so badly. Mommy said that when you were dizzy if you sat still for awhile you would feel better. There was a small table like the one in her room next to the bed. There was a glass of water on the table and she wanted to drink it. She was really thirsty. When she slid over to pick up the glass, she didn't feel dizzy so she picked up the glass of the water and stood up.

Her skirt was all wrinkled and she didn't have any shoes. Where had her shoes gone? She was always losing her shoes. Her mommy told her every night to put her shoes away in the closet so she could find them. Maybe there was a closet in this room so she could find her shoes and put them on. She wanted to leave.

Her head still hurt but she wasn't dizzy anymore. She went to the door and twisted the knob. The door wouldn't open, it was locked. Her tummy started to feel sick again.

"L-let m-me out," She said in a low, quavering voice. She turned on the knob again but nothing happened.

"Let me out n-now." She said in a louder voice. She banged on the door, but there was no sound in the silence of the room except an odd thumping noise she could hear in her ears. What was that noise? She was feeling sick and a little dizzy again.

"P-please let me go home to my m-mommy. I won't tell anyone!" Her eyes were stinging and her throat felt all full and dry. She pounded her fist on the door again.

"I want to g-go home. Let me go h-home." No one came to open the door and she wanted to cry. Mean old Justin at school said only babies cried. She wasn't a baby, but she was scared and tears welled up in her eyes and began to slide over the edges of her eyes.

"**Let me go home! I want my mommy!" **She screamed.

There was only silence and that thumping noise in her ears. She gave the door another feeble knock and then went back to the bed. She sat down and cried in spite of Justin's words ringing in her ears that she was a baby.

_Silly little baby, only little babies cry, you're a stupid little girl. _

She straightened her shoulders and pushed back her hair from her eyes. She wiped at her eyes. She wasn't a baby. She was going to find a way to get out of that room all by herself. Justin would see that she wasn't a baby.

She turned and put her feet back on the bed and then drank the rest of the water in the glass. She noticed a blanket next to her, and it looked just like the blanket on her bed at home. It was pink at the edges and had pictures of Strawberry Shortcake on it. She pulled it up to her face and clung to it like a life ring. She began to cry silently while breathing in the scent of the blanket. It didn't smell like her blanket at home. It had a funny smell, she didn't know what it was but she started to feel sleepy again and her eyes closed.

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The man watched the little girl from the computer monitor in his bedroom. She would sleep for awhile and he could go out and see what the cops were doing to find her. Perhaps this had been a mistake. The little girl belonged to Kayla Rogers and she was working for a senatorial candidate. This was going to bring a lot of heat down on him, but he couldn't help himself. He had to have his little girl back. All of the others had been poor substitutes. He was sure that his time she was the right one. His wife would be so pleased by his choice!

He looked up at the monitor again and saw that the little girl was stirring on her bed. She was looking around and he could see that she was very frightened and confused. Then the girl went to the door and he could see that she was pounding and calling out. He couldn't hear her, no one could hear her. He'd made sure that he wouldn't be disturbed.

The little girl was unhappy. That wouldn't do. He had to make her happy before his wife came back. His wife wanted a happy child, not one that looked like she would run away at the first opportunity. He would take her the present he bought for her and that would make her happy and then his wife would be so proud of him.

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Kayla Rogers yanked her arm away from the officer and ran up to Reid. "Spencer Reid… what are you doing here." She threw her arms around him while the rest of team stared in surprise.

She smelled like roses and vanilla. His arms wanted to go around her, but he was still so shocked. Admitting that is was true; that she was back in his life was too much to deal with. His arms stayed at his sides, but his mind was remembering something that happened twenty years ago.

_He ran to the end of the playground and around the row of large elm trees. The leaves were all brown and crunchy beneath his feet as he sprinted to the end of the row and hid behind the tree. The coarse bark of the tree dug into his cheek. He could feel one arm of his glasses cutting into the side of his face. Sweat was running down his face. His breath was ragged and hitched in and out of his mouth and nose. Maybe he had run fast enough this time. Part of him realized that he should have told the teacher, or stayed where he was visible but …._

_The leaves crackled behind him and he was grabbed before he could even turn around "Well… if it isn't the little fairy boy." Donnie Bowden jeered, leering in his face like a madman. _

"_You hiding from us, huh… you little fruit cake." Richie Loomis pushed Spencer down on the ground, knocking his glasses off his face._

_Bowden kicked Spencer in the stomach and bright pain blossomed in his gut like some malignant flower. He could hardly breathe and he wanted to cry out, but he didn't dare._

"_I told this little baby to let my copy off his paper during the test and he wouldn't let me see it." Donnie told his friend. "What should we do with him?"_

_Richie kicked him this time, catching him in the shoulder. He was pushed over onto his back by the force of the blow but Spencer didn't cry out. He'd learned to take the abuse from the bullies without crying. They hit you harder when you cried. He wanted to cry, the kick to his shoulder was a pain worse then any he suffered before these two had set their sights on him. _

"_I think you should beat him to a pulp and then take him to Old man Dennison's yard and let Killer have a go at him." Richie laughed and they hauled him to his feet. Richie punched him in the face and Donnie twisted his arm around his back._

"_Should we let Killer have you?" He whispered in Spencer's ear. Killer was a Doberman that barked at the kids every time they passed his masters fenced in yard. Spencer wasn't afraid, he knew the dog was locked in, but they didn't care. What if they could get the fence open?_

"_Maybe I'll let you go if you do my homework for the next month." Donnie said and he pulled back and spit in Spencer's face. He punched him hard in the face and Spencer's nose began to bleed. Still he didn't make a sound._

"_I don't think he's so smart. He can't even talk the little baby jerk face." Riche said and they both began to laugh uproariously._

"_Next time I tell you to let my copy something, you do it or I'll do more then mess up your queer little face." Donnie said pushing him to the ground again. The dead leaves crunched like gunshots in his ears when he hit the ground again. The smell of the damp earth was the only thing he could smell and it made his stomach roll over._

"_Leave him alone." Reid looked up through the pain of his face and his aching and sick feeling gut, to see a small girl his own age standing there glaring at the boys._

"_Hey Richie… look at this. The little baby has a girlfriend." He said in a sing song voice. "Go away little girl or we'll -"_

_A rock flew through the air and caught Donnie in the upper left arm. He bellowed and took two running steps toward the girl and she bounced another rock off his head. _

"_You little bitch." Richie had turned to her and she ran. The boys took off after her and Spencer tried to get up, but his head hurt so bad he couldn't move. The big boys were going to hurt her bad and he just lay there._

_After what seemed like an eternity, there was the snap of a twig to his right and he flinched. The bullies had come back and they were going to hit him again. Why couldn't they leave him alone? It wasn't his fault that he was six and already in the fourth grade. Why couldn't they understand that he just wanted to be left alone? _

"_Are you okay?" A voice said. He turned his head and saw the little girl standing there. She didn't have a mark on her and she carried something in her hands. _

"_I - I think s-so," he said, still unable to grasp that the girl wasn't hurt. _

_She knelt next to him and something cool and wet slid over his forehead and across his aching nose. He groaned and peered up at her. She was tow-headed and her green eyes were staring at him like he was an interesting bug under a microscope. _

"_T-thanks…" He said, trying to stand up and feeling dizzy._

"_How come you just let them hit you?" There was no accusation in her voice, just curiosity._

"_You can't fight those guys when you're my age." He answered, managing to drag himself to a sitting position._

_The wet towel moved across his face and he noticed she was holding his glasses that weren't broken this time._

"_Why were they mad at you?" The girl asked._

"_I wouldn't let them cheat off my test paper." he answered, taking the glasses and putting them on. Her face came clear and he saw she was very pretty._

"_How come you're the same class with them, aren't you too little to be in their grade," She sat down next to him and he took the rest of the towels from her and wiped at his nose. It had finally stopped bleeding. _

"_They said I'm a genius so I have to go to classes with the fourth grade kids, first grade is too easy for me."_

_She cocked her head and looked at him with mounting disbelief. He didn't care, he was used to it. His mom was the only one that treated him like he was normal._

"_Wow… you must be really smart. I always have trouble with school." She said frankly._

"_Well… thanks for helping me, but the guys are going to hurt you. How come they didn't get you this time?"_

"_I can run fast and one of the teachers saw them chasing me. They're in the principal's office." She said very proudly. Then she wound an arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry they hurt you. I saw you around the playground. I thought you looked very nice."_

_He didn't know what to do. No one had ever been this nice to him at school, except for the teachers and that seemed to make the kids mad at him. So he let her put her head on his shoulder. _

"_Ah - w-what's your name." He stuttered. She smelled like roses and vanilla. Her hair was silky and it tickled his cheek. He felt his face going red _

"_I'm Kayla Rogers." She smiled at him._

"_I'm S-spencer R-reid."_

"_Can we be friends Spencer Reid?" She looked like her whole existence depended on his answer and he wanted a friend so badly._

"_S-sure… I'd l-like that." He wanted a friend so badly. His mom said that friends were the only currency that mattered in the world. He knew the word currency, but he didn't understand what his mother meant until that minute. _

Spencer was yanked back to reality by the voice of his boss. "Reid_ … _you going to introduce us," He looked up and he was back in the conference room at the police precinct. He extricated himself from Kayla's embrace and refused to look at her.

"Ah - yeah… sorry Hotch, this is Kayla Rogers. She's Jessie Rogers's mother. We knew each other when I was growing up in Las Vegas." He could see that Hotch wasn't happy and he had questions in his eyes. Reid swallowed and glanced at JJ. She looked as surprised as Hotch and as disappointed which tore at his heart, but he didn't know Kayla would ambush him this way.

He finally looked at Kayla and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. He hands shook and she was looking at him like he was the only person in the world. His stomach did a flip flop and in spite of the situation, he realized that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. But then he'd always thought she was the prettiest girl in his life next to his mother.

_She isn't in your life. She left you behind_

Yeah… he remembered what she had done. He drew up to his full height and looked coldly at her. "Kayla… this is my boss at the BAU, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. This is Special Agent Jennifer Jareau. She's our unit liaison." He put as much ice as he could into his tone and she flinched away in surprise, her eyes filling up with tears again.

"Ms Rogers… why don't you come with me and we'll talk about Jessie," JJ said kindly to Kayla. Her eyes met Spencer's and he gave her a barely perceptible nod of his head. She led Kayla out before the woman could protest.

"Reid…" Hotch said, his tone not happy.

Reid didn't look at Hotch. He had explaining to do and he didn't know what he was going to say


	4. Old Friends

_Disclaimer: Nothing of CM is owned by me. I own only my own characters. _

_**Old Friends**_

JJ led Kayla into a small interrogation room. It had the usual large two way mirror on the left wall. There was a scratched and scuffed metal table in the center of the room. Two uncomfortable metal chairs faced each other across the table. JJ took one chair and moved it to the foot of the table and sat down. Kayla took the other chair. She opened her black purse and pulled out a handkerchief.

The yellow light made her look pale and indistinct as if she were a ghost and not a real person sitting to the right of JJ. She wiped at her red eyes and looked imploringly at JJ. Her hands were trembling and they were fisted on the table in front of her.

"Can I talk to Spencer… please?"

"Ms Rogers… you have to let him do his job. All of us will do everything we can to find your daughter and bring her home. What can you tell me about Jessie?" JJ folded her hands on the table.

"S-she's a good g-girl. S-she wouldn't g-go off on her own. W-why aren't you out t-there l-looking for her." Kayla got wearily to her feet and began to pace around the room. "You're j-just sitting there, w-why aren't you looking for her."

"We're doing everything we can to find her." JJ stood and walked around to face Kayla. "Tell me about her. What does she like to do after school? What are her hobbies? Does she have many friends?

"S-she likes to draw and p-paint. She's s-such a good artist. She's a sweet c-child, but she wouldn't talk to strangers or go anywhere with them. I t-taught her not to do that," Kayla dropped into her chair and began to sob again.

"Did Jessie often walk home alone?" JJ tried a different tact.

"No! I always p-pick her up or have a f-friend bring her home. It's not safe for little g-girls to walk around alone." The rage in the woman's eyes surprised JJ. "I told her not to walk home with Cynthia but she didn't listen to me and now she's gone." Kayla began to sob again, her shoulders shaking and her face crumpled like paper.

"Ma'am… have you noticed anyone hanging around the house or watching Jessie. Is there anything you've noticed in the last few weeks that's made you uncomfortable, but you didn't know why?" JJ asked, placing a hand on Kayla's arm.

"N-no, I don't think so. Do you think someone has been watching her?"

"It's possible that whoever took your daughter has been watching her." JJ knew the team would be concerned at the window of opportunity the un-sub had to snatch the girl.

"I can't think of anyone watching or doing anything that's out of the ordinary. She goes to school and plays with her friends. She's just like other kids. Why did he pick my daughter?" She was crying again, her face splotchy red and white. Her hands had such a tight grip on her handkerchief, her knuckles were white.

"I don't know why she was chosen. The members of my team are the best in the world and they will do everything they can to bring her home safely.

Kayla was looking at her like she was a life raft and JJ put aside her curiosity at her apparent connection to Reid. That was for a later time.

"Ms Rogers… I'm sorry to ask, but where is Jessie's father." JJ asked as kindly as she could.

"Jason's dead. He died in Iraq three years ago. He and I were very young when I got pregnant and we weren't getting along when Jessie was born. He didn't want to be a father. He only wanted to be a solider. He said it was better if we split up because he was going off to Iraq and who knew what would happen. He left a month after Jessie was born. She never knew her father." She repeated all of this as if it were a script she'd memorized a long time ago.

"I'm sorry… but I had to ask." JJ told her. Kayla stood up and began to pace up and down the room again. Tears fell continuously from her eyes. Her black skirt was wrinkled her hair was coming down from the clip she'd put it in that very morning.

"Tell me about the man you work for," JJ asked next.

Kayla smiled humorously. "You really out in left field if you think that Stephen Wainwright had anything to do with this, he's the most honorable man I know, and that's saying a lot for a politician."

JJ smiled conspiratorially. "So there's nothing going on with you two."

Kayla bristled for a minute before taking her chair again and smiling back at JJ. "I see what you're doing. I deal with the press for a living Agent Jareau; it'll take more than that to ruffle my feathers. If you must know Stephen is a happily married man."

"Ok… I have to ask!" JJ shrugged as if to say it was a chore that was necessary to perform. She knew Stephen Wainwright was married, but that hadn't stopped some men she knew. She thought that Hotch might just be the last faithful husband left in the world.

Kayla seemed to be getting her emotions somewhat under control. She had stopped crying, but her eyes looked like she might begin again at any time.

"What about the rest of his staff. Is there anyone that makes you nervous or look twice at." JJ asked.

Kayla thought about it for a long time. "There was a man named Jeffrey Hatch that was a member of the campaign staff. He had a real gambling problem. He was in debt up to his eyeballs and was attracting a lot of unwanted attention. Then he was hitting on one of the female staffers and she complained to Stephen. He had to get rid of him. I know it sounds heartless, but Stephen has to surround himself with the best people to get elected. I'm sure you understand how it works, coming from Washington DC.

JJ smiled at her, "Yes… we have to deal with politicians in our work and then there's in house politics with every job including mine." Thoughts of Erin Strauss flitted through her mind for an instant. That woman was a menace and shouldn't be in the Bureau. She made herself shut out those thoughts. It was over for now.

"Agent Jareau… one of Stephen's pet projects is tightening up laws that punish those that hurt children so I know the statistics on something like this. I know you have limited time to find my daughter. What else can I do to help? Tears were beginning to fall again. "May I please have a glass of water?"

JJ went to the water bottle in the corner and pulled a paper cup out of the dispenser. She could hear the sniffling of the woman behind her. How could this be happening in the twenty-first century? When would people learn to stop hurting each other? She filled the cup and took it to Kayla.

"Thanks… you're very kind." Kayla smiled wearily up at JJ.

"I just can't believe this is real. I just want my daughter back." She began to sob again and JJ leaned over to embrace the woman while she cried.

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Reid was playing with the dark grey tie he was wearing and making every effort not to look his boss in the eye. Hotch was angry and Reid knew he had every right to be, but how was he going to explain how he knew Kayla and why he didn't say anything about it to Hotch in the first place. If he was honest he would have to reveal more of his life as a child than he'd ever told anyone and that was scary. He didn't want to be that open with anyone he worked with, because somehow it always came back to bite him in the butt when he trusted someone at the Bureau. Hotch was different, he wouldn't use that knowledge against him, but as soon as his boss knew everyone on the team would know because they had to know everything about Kayla and Jessie. What was going to happen when Morgan found out about Kayla? He shuddered to think about it.

"Reid… stop playing with your tie and explain to me why you didn't feel it necessary to tell me about your acquaintance with the mother of a victim, of a crime we're investigating." Hotch asked through gritted teeth.

Reid stopped playing with his tie, but he didn't look up at Hotch. He didn't need to look at the man to know that he was very angry. He heaved a big sigh and tried to think of how he was going to start his tale.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think we'd meet up and -"

"Don't lie to me Reid. This is child abduction. To say that you wouldn't deal with the mother is naïve and I expected better of you." Reid could hear the ice in Hotch's voice, but how could he explain.

"Reid…" Hotch prompted briskly.

Reid finally looked up from his hands that were twisting together in his lap. "I didn't want to let our relationship, or lack thereof, get in the way of the investigation. She is an old friend and that's all."

He could see that Hotch didn't believe him and he was regretting his decision to try and fool one of the best profilers in the world.

Hotch stood up and went to the white board on the wall. There were photos of Jessie on the board and Reid studiously avoided looking at them. Hotch observed this and wondered why his young agent couldn't look at the little girl.

"If you're going to lie to me Reid, at least make it a little more creative." He waited and Reid squirmed in his chair, but he didn't say anything.

"Fine… let me tell you about Kayla Rogers and your "acquaintance." He came back to his chair and sat down across from Reid staring holes into the young man.

"The way you avoid that picture tells me that you've known Ms Rogers since you were a very young child. Jessie resembles her mother so much that you can't bear to look at the photo. She was the only friend you had when you were a child. There was some traumatic event in her life that left a strong bond between the two of you. Something happened to that bond when you were still very young and you resent her for it. You blame her for leaving. She moved away around the same time as your father left you. You stayed in touch for a long time, writing letters to each other, till she broke off contact. You were about thirteen when she quit writing to you. She stopped because you told her that you. -"

"Stop it!" Reid shouted. He was nearly in tears and rocking in his chair.

"I'm sorry Reid… but you refused to tell it your way. I'm sorry that she hurt you so badly when you were so young, but we have to focus on the case and build a profile. I should send you home, but I need you here with me. I can't afford to lose another profiler from the team. Can I count on you to do your job and not be distracted by something that happened when you were a kid?" Hotch watched Reid very carefully. He was relived to see the young man pull himself together and meet his eyes forthrightly.

"I don't have a problem working this case, but I - I don't want to talk to her!" He spit out, his face turning so red that Hotch's heart went out to him.

"You won't have to talk to her. I'm sure that JJ has a lot of information to give us. She's good with families."

Reid smiled wistfully. JJ was good with people and so were Emily and Morgan. He wished that he could be that way too.

"I'm sorry Hotch, this whole thing caught me off guard and I didn't want to deal with it." He said honestly.

"It's okay. You never really get over your first love." Hotch gave him a rare smile and Reid was so relived that he surprised himself by telling the older agent all about his first meeting with Kayla.

Hotch frowned to hear the abuse that the young man had suffered at the hands of kids that refused to accept him. His mind flashed back uncomfortably to the emergency room standoff with Phillip Dowd and how he'd kicked Reid. Afterward, the young agent made a joke about the Las Vegas Public School System and how Hotch kicked like a girl, but after hearing just the bare bones of this story he knew Reid had exaggerated how much Hotch had hurt him. There was nothing to do about it now. They had to get to work.

"Alright… let's talk this out…" Hotch trailed off when JJ came into the room, Reid saw through the glass in the door that Kayla was leaving the building. He felt an insane urge to run after her and kiss her.

"I've got some information for you guys." JJ sat down in the chair next to Reid and began to tell them all that Kayla had told about Jessie and Stephen Wainwright.

"I called Garcia to see if we can run down Jeffery Hatch. Ms Rogers doesn't know what happened to him after Wainwright let him go from his job. He was a CPA before joining the campaign. Garcia is looking deeper, maybe something will pop."

"If it doesn't, then we can cross him off the list." Hotch said. His phone rang and it was Morgan checking in to let them know they had arrived in Mount Pleasant Utah, and were on their way to talk to Sarah Hamlin's parents.

Hotch ended the call and JJ finished relating what Kayla had told her about Jessie and her father. "So we can rule out her father too." JJ finished her eyes were on the picture of Jessie and she looked very thoughtful.

"What are you thinking?" Hotch asked.

"Just that it's not fair that she never got to know her father." JJ shrugged. Reid smiled wanly at her. He was still reeling from the revelation that Jessie's father was dead. At least his father was still alive, or so he thought. How would he feel if someone had to tell him that his dad was dead? Would it matter or would it be a relief? He didn't know what he would feel.

JJ's phone buzzed, "JJ here… what have you found Garcia." Reid watched her talk to their computer expert, but he really didn't pay attention to what she was saying. JJ had spent a lot of time with Kayla and she would know if Kayla still…

_Don't go there Reid. Remember that it took years for you to get over this the first time she stopped contact with you. You don't ever want to hurt like that again. _

JJ closed her phone and her face was grim. "That was Garcia," she said unnecessarily. "Mr. Hatch is off the grid. He lost his job six months ago and moved no forwarding address. She can't find any credit cards, or utility hook ups, or anything to tell us where he is right now. There no reason to think he's dead.

They looked at each other and Reid knew they were all thinking the same thing. Perhaps they had a copy cat on their hands.

"She's going to keep digging." JJ finished.

"We need to proceed as though this un-sub is the same one that killed the other two girls. Till we hear different from Garcia we need to put together a profile. Reid… I want you to work on victimology. Morgan can give you more information after he talks to the parents of the other victims. I'm going to go talk to Cynthia Irving and her parents. I want to know why Jessie went against her mother's wishes and left the schoolyard today." Hotch stood and left the conference room.

"Okay… he's gone. Are you going to tell me what's going on with you and Kayla? JJ inquired.

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Her head was still hurting really bad when she woke up again. The blanket was on the floor next to the bed she lay on. It was still dark, but the night light was burning at one end of the room. She wanted her Mickey Mouse night light, not the Superman night light in the socket. She didn't like Superman he was too big and scary. She liked the Knights of the Round Table and Merlin.

Maybe if she prayed really hard her mommy's knight would come find her. She knew that the story that her mommy told her was true. She wasn't supposed to go in her mommy's room when she wasn't in there, but she had and she looked in the closet. She wanted to find shoes to play dress up with, but she found a box with letters, and a hair ribbon, and a ring and some pictures. She saw a picture of her mommy that looked like Jessie did now. She remembered what the knight was supposed to look like and he was the same in the pictures. Jessie thought he looked very nice and she wanted to meet him.

Mommy said that a knight protected people and Jessie thought that the knight must be grown up like her mommy. Maybe God would send him to find her and then he could stay with Mommy and marry her. Jessie knew that her mommy wanted the knight to marry her. She didn't know why mommy didn't call the knight and tell him to come back and stay with her. Maybe the knight was already married and he couldn't come. Jessie didn't think he was. Fairy tales always ended with the princess getting her prince or knight, so that meant that Mommy's knight just had to come and rescue Jessie so that mommy would be happy again.

She crawled off the bed and knelt beside it. "Dear God, my name is Jessie Rogers and I'm very scared. I know that You can send my mommy's knight to come rescue me so that mommy won't be sad anymore. I want to see my mommy again really bad, so can you please send the knight to come get me soon? Thank you God."

She got up and looked around the room. Somehow she wasn't quite so afraid of the dark now. She needed to go to the bathroom, but she didn't know where it was. Maybe she could look around and see if there was a bathroom.

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The little girl looked happier now. He watched her get out of the bed and kneel down in prayer. What an innocent little girl. She actually believed that God would help her. He knew that wasn't true. God had never helped him, or answered any of his prayers, and it was time that the little girl realized that for herself. He would show her that her new life was with him and his family. She would never see her mother again. It was better this way. Now she would have a father.


	5. Nightmares

_A/n thanks to all of you that faithfully read and review this story. Also, I have to thank my wonderful beta REIDFANATIC for all of her imput and help. _

_Disclaimer: Only the characters you don't recognize are mine. No copyright infringement is intended with this posting._

_**Nightmares**_

_The lights flashed and blinked yellow, and red, and blue in all directions. There were electronic beeps, and bops, and pinging noises from every machine in the crowded arcade. The shouts of the kids added to the noise level and made it impossible to communicate without shouting. _

_He was standing in front of a game featuring jet airplanes, bombs and missiles. He was just tall enough to see the screen and work the joystick and other buttons. She stood next to him watching as he put thousands of points on the board with little effort. _

"_How come that's so easy for you? I always lose!" Kayla whined in a shout._

"_It's easy. Al you have to do is calculate the speed of the jets, how many airplanes there are, with the trajectory of the bombs and the missiles." Spencer replied, without taking his eyes off the game in front of him. _

"_You're such a spaz, not everyone's as smart as you Spencer." Kayla said with a sneer._

"_I can teach you how to play if you want." Spencer said, after adding another five thousand points to the score._

"_Naw… I don't want to play a dumb old game like that, that's for boys." She informed him with her hands on her hips. She was glaring at him, but he didn't pay attention._

"_I'll bet you want to play Pac man. That's a kid's game." Spencer shouted back. He was still racking up points on the game. She'd watched him play this game several times before and he always won. _

"_I like that game. It's a lot better than shooting down dumb old planes."_

"_Okay… I'm done here anyway. I broke my old record." He said proudly. _

_Kayla rolled her eyes and they went to play some different games. Spencer looked at his watch and saw that it was almost six pm. His dad would be home soon and he would be really mad if Spencer didn't make it home. His mother didn't care anymore. She never made it out of bed most days. Kayla's mother didn't care where she was either. Kayla didn't like to go home anyway. They never talked about the bruises that Kayla always had. He thought some adult at her school would say something, but no one cared. _

"_Hey Spencer, lets get our picture taken together. We can share them. It'll mean that we're best friends forever."_

"_Okay…"_

_They got in the booth together and Spencer put money in to start the camera. They took a strip of five black and white pictures so that each of them could have one to keep. It was the best day that Spencer could remember for a long time. _

_He pulled aside the curtain and was stepping out of the booth when a very tall, dark haired boy grabbed him. _

"_Well… look who we have here Vic." He was talking to the red headed boy next to him that had a hold on Kayla's arm. _

"_Let her go." Spencer shouted. _

"_Nope… I don't think we'll let your little girlfriend run off. We have plans for both of you." The dark haired boy kept a vice like grip on Reid, and the boys made them walk out of the arcade with them. Kayla was trying to pull away, but Vic kept a tight hold on her. All of the noise of the arcade camouflaged their protests, and the large room was so crowded with kids interested in their games, no one noticed two small children being led out by two teenaged boys._

_The guys forced them into an old black sports car. They slammed the doors and Vic locked the doors. The car had pulled away from the curb and they were heading fast down the street before either of the kids could try to get away. _

"_I'm scared," Kayla whispered, putting her arm through Spencer's._

"_Me too," he whispered back, he was shaking all over. He knew these boys. They were in his biology class at school. They were always the ones that locked him in lockers or chased after him when he walked home from school. They were football players and he knew that he and Kayla couldn't get away from them. He had to think of something else. He wished that Kayla wasn't there; he didn't want her to get hurt. He didn't want to get hurt, but it was better him than her. He could feel her shaking like a leaf against him and she was crying. _

_The guys were whooping and hollering in the front of the car. One of the guys put a tape in the player and Motley Crue began to scream out the lyrics to "Shout at the devil." Spencer looked around for anything to use against the boys, but he couldn't see anything. He looked out the window and didn't recognize where they were driving._

_When the car stopped it was in front of an abandoned casino that had been condemned. It was to be torn down and rebuilt. The boys made Spencer and Kayla follow them inside. The lock had been broken on the outside door and the door to the kitchen. Vic and Johnny, the dark haired boy, took them through the kitchen to another room. _

"_Leave her alone. Let her go and I'll go wherever you want." Spencer tried to tell them, but they just laughed them. Spencer could smell the alcohol on their clothes and he knew they'd both been drinking and wouldn't listen to reason. The kitchen and the next room were mazes and he lost track of where they were going. The boys took them into some kind of room that didn't have windows and dark as pitch with the doors closed. Spencer noticed something reflective on the walls before the boys shut the door._

_He tried to kick and punch against Vic, but got hit in the face for his pains. He heard Kayla scream, and he yelled for her while the older boys laughed. He heard the sound of something ripping and Kayla screamed again. He fought with all of his strength, but Vic was too big and after several blows to his face and kicks to his side and belly, he passed out. _

Reid exploded out of sleep, screaming Kayla's name. The sheets were twisted around his body and he was shivering against the sweat drying on his skin. He was sitting bolt upright in bed and breathing so hard he was dizzy. He dropped back against the headboard of the bed, and tried to remember where he was, and why that old memory was back. There was a little grey light seeping through a window to his left and he remembered that he was in Las Vegas again.

He struggled out of the sheets that wound around his thin body like a mummy shroud, and scooted to the edge of the bed. He took several deep breaths and wiped at his forehead. His heartbeat was beginning to slow and the nausea he felt began to subside in his churned up stomach. The clock said that it was six fifty four am. It was time to get up and get back to work.

Hotch had sent him and JJ to the motel she had got for them. It had been one am and there was little they could do until the morning. Morgan and Emily had spoken to the Hamlin family in Utah, but there was nothing more to learn from them, than they already knew. By the time they got to Colorado, it was too late to see the Grants.

He was supposed to have slept, but he'd come back to the room and laid down only to toss and turn for hours before falling into a restless sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Kayla and the last time he'd seen her. The dream was a natural response to the stress of the case; he only wished it had been just a dream instead of a memory.

He stood up and tried to stretch out the kinks in his neck. There was a lamp next to the bed and he snapped it on. He wished that Gideon were there. Gideon would understand better than anyone else; he would know what to say to Reid to help him deal with Kayla and finding her daughter. He hadn't wanted to give up that night, but he knew there was nothing else to do. Hotch was right to say they need a fresh perspective on the case and clear heads. Reid's head hadn't been clear since he'd realized the cost of failure. Yes… Kayla had hurt him badly… but he still cared for her and he refused to let her suffer the loss of her little girl.

When he finished his shower and dressed, he looked around and saw that there was a coffee pot and some gourmet coffee, a common sight in Las Vegas hotels. He made some coffee and sat down at the little table in one corner of the room. He was looking at the case file and finishing the cup of coffee when an idea struck him and he pulled out his phone to call Garcia.

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Kayla Rogers jolted out of a different dream. She was lying on her daughter's bed and for one lovely moment she forgot what had happened. Then she remembered the afternoon before and her heart ripped again. She sat up and cried out at the crook in her neck from sleeping at an odd angle. The pain ran all the way from her shoulder to her neck. All of the crying she'd done had left her with a terrible headache.

The dream had started out okay; she was pushing Jessie in a swing. The little girl had moved back and forth in front of her mother, screaming with laughter as she went higher. Then the tone changed and the girl was going too high. Jessie began to scream for her mother to stop pushing, but Kayla pushed with all of her strength and Jessie flew backwards and forwards in the scoop chair of the swing. The creaking of the chains was so loud that Kayla couldn't hear the screams of her girl. Then Kayla heard a voice and looked to the left. Spencer was standing there and he was beckoning to her with one hand. He was a child again. She looked down and saw that she wore jeans and the same Mickey Mouse tennis shoes that had been her favorite as a ten year old. She looked around and Jessie was gone, disappeared into the afternoon sun.

"Jessie, where are you?" She had screamed. Reid was running to her but he never seemed to get any closer.

"Spencer, you have to help me find her." He was speaking to her but she couldn't hear what he said.

"Spencer… she's gone… you have to help me find her… please!" He ran forward, but got smaller and smaller. It was getting dark and there was a heavy presence in the air that hung over her like tar. She couldn't move at all.

"Spencer… Help me!" Her voice was the scream of a frightened and crying child.

It was dark and someone was hurting her, now she was Jessie and Jessie was her. It was then that she had awoken.

The shower in her bathroom pulled her and she hobbled into the tiled room. When the water was very hot she got in and let it pound out the worst of the pain in her shoulder. She cried and berated herself for sleeping, scouring the town for her baby. The police told her to stay home, but how could she. It wasn't right for her to do that, and she promised her daughter that she wouldn't sleep again till Jessie was home.

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Hotch and JJ entered the conference room about five minutes after Reid had arrived. They looked considerably better than he did. JJ kept throwing him looks. He had refused to tell her anything about Kayla while they had worked on the victimology.

"Hotch… I had a thought this morning. There were two young men that I sort of ran afoul of when I was ten. They spent time in jail because of me and Kayla. I thought maybe this could be revenge motivated." Spencer said after they had greeted each other.

"I think you should have Garcia check it out, but we have to proceed as though this is connected to the other murders." Hotch reminded the young agent.

"I know sir, I just want to find Jessie and I want to cover all the bases." Reid said.

"What happened to you Spence? Can you tell us?" JJ asked kindly, seeing some of the distress on her friends face.

He took in and held a deep breath before letting it out in a rush. "I don't want to betray the trust of a friend." He held up a hand when Hotch started to speak.

"I know you don't mean to pry, but we were so young and Kayla was the most hurt by what happened that day." He looked down at the file in front of him for a few moments before beginning to speak. He told them in a general way what had happened in his nightmare that wasn't a nightmare.

"… I had passed out from the beating and when I woke up I was in the hospital. My mother and father were furious and the boys were arrested because my dad was a lawyer and he wouldn't let it go even though I begged him. He left my mom soon after the boys went to jail. Kayla was taken from her mother, who was an alcoholic and abusive. We were in that room for two days before a workman found us. Her mother didn't report her missing. I don't think she noticed that Kayla was gone. Her aunt was given custody and a month after my dad left she was gone."

"You couldn't have done anything to stop what happened… you know that right?" Hotch said.

"I know, but for a long time I blamed myself for what happened. They came after her because of me. If I had just been an ordinary kid I wouldn't…"

Hotch reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Reid if you had a "normal brain" as you say, you wouldn't be a part of this team. We need your talents and you've helped a lot of people. So let… it… go."

Reid smiled wryly and nodded his head. "Okay… let's go give the profile we've worked up." Hotch said.

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"The man were looking for is white between the ages of thirty and forty five. He's methodical and organized. He's been watching Jessie for awhile, waiting for the perfect opportunity to grab her. The fact that he did this in broad daylight, and with the possibility of being seen, tells us that the kidnapping of the children is second to the risk of the crime itself. He is looking for a certain type for a child. We need to figure out why he's taken the girls." Hotch informed the police officers."

"He kills them with a poison that kills slowly and extremely painfully. It speaks to sexual sadism. He likes to torture. On the other hand there are no other markings on the bodies. There is no rape. He cleans them up and leaves them in new homes in new neighborhoods. It speaks to remorse, or someone that is familiar with forensics and how the police work." Reid explained gesturing wildly with his hands.

"He may see the girls as some kind of idolized figure. Maybe he lost a daughter or sister. He may be trying to replace what he's lost." Reid continued.

"Then why does he kill them? Why not keep them and play out the fantasy?" An officer at the front of the bullpen asked Reid.

"Because these girls can't take the place of what he's lost. The fantasy has to end and he punishes them for not being what he wants." Reid told the officer.

"The one thing they all have in common is an interest in art. We need to talk to art teachers at school, canvass craft stores, and hobby shops." Hotch told the group.

"Please remember that you need to keep the details to yourselves. The press is going to be all over this as the daughter of a staffer for Mr. Steven Wainwright is the victim. I'm going to talk to the mother and have her make a plea to the kidnapper. That should get the press off our back for a little while" JJ informed the group. They broke up to continue the investigation.

Morgan called in to tell them they had seen the Grants, but there was no help there, just the same details as the other cases. They were on their way back to Las Vegas. Reid was telling Hotch that he wanted to check out the area where Jessie was taken when his phone rang.

"Reid," he stuck one finger in his ear as they were passing a group of officers leaving the precinct.

"Hey sweet boy… got something for ya." Garcia's voice came over the line, and hope leapt up in his chest.

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Jessie woke again when the room was lighter. Her head didn't hurt anymore and she wasn't dizzy, but she was hungry. She left the bed again went to the door. As before she tried to call out to the person that had locked the door, but no one answered.

"Let me out please…"

She banged on the door and her knuckles hurt from the contact with the wooden door. "I want to go home. I want to see my mommy. Please let me out!" She was shouting and banging her sore fists on the wood. She ignored the pain and yelled again.

"Let me out. I won't tell anyone. I promise not to tell if you let me out."

She was crying too hard to be understood. She slid down the door lay in front it for a long time, trying to forget how hungry and scared she was. She tried to think of her mommy's knight and what he might look like. She hoped that he liked to draw too. She thought that he would like to play games or read stories about magicians like Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table. He would tell her things she didn't know; all kinds of wonderful things.

There was a noise behind her that interrupted her pleasant thoughts. It sounded like the key in the lock. She scrambled to her feet and stood in front of the door. It creaked open and she screamed at the sight of the figure in front of her.


	6. She's the right one

_A/n thanks once again to my supportive readers and reviewer. Also many thanks to by wonderful beta REIDFANATIC for all of her help and support. _

_Disclaimer: Only the characters you don't recognize are mine._

_**She's the right one**_

The man left his room and walked up the stairs. The threadbare carpet had holes in places. The roses in the pattern, once red and garish, were now the pink of a new bruise. The pink was worse than the red, but she wouldn't let him change anything about the house. He turned to the left, his hand trailing along the pitted and scratched, wooden railing. He went up the second flight of stairs and down the hallway. The wallpaper matched the carpet, hideous climbing roses and vines. They looked as though they could leap off the wall and strangle you. He was used to the décor of the house. The wallpaper was faded and torn like the carpet. One hand skittered over the wall as he walked to the room at the end of the hall. She wouldn't like him touching the wall.

_(Keep your filthy hands off the walls)_

He yanked his hand away and stopped in the middle of the hallway, listening. He stood as still as he could, but it was silent.

"Leave me alone," He whispered in a trembling voice.

He took a step forward, then stopped and listened again. The silence was profound in the house. He didn't even hear her. He panicked, where had she gone? She couldn't have left because he'd been downstairs with the door to his room open. He would've heard her if she tried to come down the stairs. She wouldn't try, she couldn't leave her room. He was still standing in the hallway looking at the door in front of him when he began to panic. What if she could leave the room?

His heart was racing when he started forward again. His steps sounded much louder to him than when he'd started up the steps just minutes ago. They were heavy and slow like every breath he took. His hand reached out to the door knob and twisted it open. He pushed slowly, his heart hammering and his stomach churning.

The room was dark as it always was, except for the faint light of the lamp next to the bed. The lamp shade was a tacky pink satin, and it muted the light so that the room was left in heavy shadow. He went to the bed and his heart began to slow from it's frantic pace when he saw her sitting there with her back against the silk covered pillows, just as she always was.

"What are you staring at?" Her high and breathless voice was trembling with rage. What had he done this time?

"Sweet heart I'm just concerned that -"

"I know what you're thinking. You think I'll leave don't you? You want me to leave. You want me to go away and leave you here with your little perversions." Her voice had once been a turn on to him. Now it grated in his ears like someone rubbing their hand over a balloon.

"My love, you know I don't want you to leave you. I brought you another present. You'll like this one." He was whining, but he couldn't stop himself.

"You know I can't leave this room." She went on as though she couldn't hear him. "You want me to die and leave you in this house alone. I should have listened to my father when he told me not to marry you. He was right; you're nothing but a spineless jellyfish. You don't have the balls to pick the correct replacement for your little princess."

His fists were clenching and unclenching, but he stood still where he was, just looking at her. She was right. It was his fault that his little girl was gone. He had to keep his temper. This time it would work out. It had to work out. She'd see his choice and she would be happy for once. They would be a family forever this time.

"Baby… I promise you'll be pleased this time. You'll see what I brought you and you'll be so happy. This one is very special. She can draw and she likes magic tricks and you know how much you like magic." He kept his fingers crossed behind his back as he watched her.

"You don't know how to make a good decision. That's why I'm stuck in this bed."

"Please… I promise this time you'll be happy. Her name is Jessie and she -"

"Her name is Sarah!" She shouted at him, and he stumbled back from the bed, his heart slamming in his chest again.

"I'm sorry my love. Her name is Sarah. She's beautiful and kind. I've been watching her for a long time and -"

"Stop moving your gums and take me to see her." She ordered and again the urge to reach out and close his hands around her throat was so strong he actually took a step toward her before his brain exerted control again. He couldn't kill her, he loved her. He promised to love her for better or worse and in sickness and in health. She would get better when she saw their daughter was back.

"I'm sorry my love."

He took her out of the dark and shadowy room, down the tattered hallway and down the stairs. She berated him all the way to the room where his little girl lived, but he didn't listen to her. He was too excited to show her that his time he'd gotten it right. He fumbled on key out of his pocket and turned it in the lock. The door opened on silent hinges and he saw that the little girl was huddled in the middle of the floor. She looked up at him and his wife and screamed.

"No Sarah… it's okay. This is mommy. She -"

"I want my mommy. That's not my mommy." Sarah said backing away. She bumped into the bed and sat down hard.

"No… this is your mother and I'm you father. We're going to be a very happy family." He looked frantically from his wife to the little girl. This had to be the right choice. He couldn't lose his daughter again.

"I want my mommy." The girl was crying now. That would make her eyes red and spoil her face. He backed out of the room and locked the door.

"**You're useless. You can't do anything right. She's not right!" **His wife's voice rose with every word. He went back to the pink room at the top of the stairs and she swore and raved at him all the way back to her bedroom.

"Please… just give it a couple of days. I promise she'll be our daughter." He begged. She turned her head away and he was dismissed just like that.

What was he going to do? He had to make Sarah understand that this was her family now. He ran from the room, his wife's abuses drifting after him like fog in the wind. He returned to his room and turned on the television he'd rigged up to watch his little girl. She was lying on the floor and crying. This would not do! He had to fix it!

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Reid was telling Hotch that he wanted to check out the area where Jessie was taken when his phone rang.

"Reid," he stuck one finger in his ear as they were passing a group of officers leaving the precinct.

"_Hey sweet boy… got something for ya." _

"Talk to me Garcia."

"_I tracked down the elusive Mr. Hatch. He changed his name to Bart Camden. He was working as a CPA in Georgia when he was arrested for rape. He was convicted and is a guest of the State of Georgia for the next five years."_

The hope that had sprung up in Reid died with her words. It looked like the copy cat theory was out the window.

"Thanks Garcia."

"_Not so fast I've got more information for you. I've been checking out Stephen Wainwright and he isn't as squeaky clean as he would like everyone to think. He was a building contractor in the private sector. There were some claims of shoddy work and bribing inspectors, but nothing was ever proved."_

It wasn't a stinging indictment, but it was something. "If there's no evidence, then how do you know about it?" He asked, knowing it was a dumb question. Actually… he didn't want to know how or where she got her information. If Garcia ever got into a database she shouldn't, he wouldn't be called on to testify against his best friend if he was ignorant of her methods.

"_Now sugar… you know if I tell you that I'll have to kill you. I don't want to kill you. Depriving the female population of the beauty that is you would truly be a crime." _

He smiled, but didn't flush as he would have if anyone else had said that to him. She was Garcia; there was nothing else to say.

"Thanks Penelope, did I ever tell you you're great for my ego?"

"_You sound sad. Tell me who dares hurt my sweet boy!" _

Her demanding tone nearly made him laugh. Because it was her, he told her about Kayla and the connection to the case.

"_Well baby cakes… don't let it get you down. If she can't see how great you are that's her loss. I want to hear a smile in your voice. I have good news. One the homes Wainwright's company built was destroyed in a mud slide. The company and the city inspectors blamed it on an act of God. The home was brand new, it wasn't on a hillside, and the homeowner claimed that the foundation was badly built. He sued Wainwright's company and lost. The man's name is Henry Sparks. He moved to Salt Lake City Utah a year ago and now he's here in Las Vegas. He gave up his job in California after the house was destroyed and became a building inspector. He's been in all the cities where the girls have gone missing. He can't seem to hold a job. His wife and daughter left him a year ago when he gave up his cushy six figure job and got into massive debt. They were killed in an apartment fire two weeks after he moved to Salt Lake City." _

She gave him the address for Henry Sparks and hung up. He turned back to the conference room and found Hotch who'd been waiting for his conversation to end. He told his boss all about the possible suspect.

"So is it possible that this is all about revenge?" Reid asked.

"No… this guy is after more than just simple revenge." Hotch replied. "JJ has a press conference set up for twenty minutes from now. Maybe we can rattle this guy a little bit."

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

JJ stood in front of the mass of microphones and reporters outside of the precinct. Hotch was standing to one side of her and Kayla was standing behind her next to Spencer. She'd walked up to him just as the cameras began to point in her direction. She had smiled at him and taken his hand. He couldn't pull away from her with all the reporters and cameras watching.

"What are you doing?" He'd hissed out of the corner of his mouth. Her hand in his was so familiar. He cursed his brain for remembering her touch and all the feeling it invoked in his heart.

"I'm going to speak to the press." She hissed back at him.

"That's not what I mean."

"Don't worry… I'll be on my way as soon as this is over. You have a job to do and I won't keep you from it." She said quietly.

Reid pulled his eyes away from her face that was shadowed with worry and anger. If she was angry with him, it wasn't his fault. He would not be responsible for her feelings, not this time.

"Ms Rogers will make a statement. She won't be taking questions at this time." JJ was saying to a chorus of groans and mumbling from the group of reporters.

JJ moved aside and Kayla let go of his hand to approach the microphones. She stood tall and held her head high. She looked as confident as JJ always looked when dealing with the press, but there was something in the way she moved that told him she was hanging on by the barest of threads.

"My name is Kayla Rogers. Twelve hours ago my daughter Jessie disappeared from the street just outside her school. Jessie is only six years old and a sweet, kind little girl. She is my baby, I love her so much. Jessie loves to draw and she loves magic. Please whoever you are, if you're listening I just want my daughter back."

Kayla turned from the microphones and walked back to where Spencer stood. She didn't attempt to take his hand again. She was crying softly and he wanted to put an arm around her, but he didn't. His hands remained stuffed in his pockets. JJ spoke to the reporters that were shouting questions.

"Agent Jareau… is it true the bureau is looking for a serial killer?" One woman reporter shouted.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss the details of the case. The police and the FBI are working tirelessly to find the person responsible for the abduction of Jessie Rogers."

"Is it true you're looking at Steven Wainwright as a possible person of interest?" Another reporter shouted over the din of the crowd.

"At this time the police do not have a person of interest in this case. Mr. Wainwright is Ms Rogers' employer, and we will be talking to him, but he is not a person of interest at this time.

This went on for a few minutes and Reid was wondering how the press knew that they were questioning Mr. Wainwright involvement in the case. Was it possible that there was a leak in the department? He wouldn't be surprised.

Eventually the press conference broke up and Hotch met up with Morgan and Emily who'd just arrived at the precinct. They gathered to in the conference room and Morgan explained that the only thing the girls seemed to have in common was their love of art and their appearance.

"The detectives we spoke to in both states did everything right. This guy is way too good at what he does." Morgan explained.

"I'm beginning to think that he's taking these girls as some kind of replacement for his own family. I believe he lost a daughter and is looking for a substitute. He doesn't hurt them any more than he has to and he leaves them where they will be quickly found. He doesn't want their bodies to succumb to the elements or to animals before they're found." Hotch said.

"What about the COD. Reid explained how terrible a death that was. It seems to me that he's torturing them." Morgan argued

"I think we're talking about two un-subs." Emily said at the same time Reid did. They looked at each other and laughed. Morgan and Hotch smiled too.

"I hope you're wrong." Morgan said.

"Why?" Reid wanted to know.

"Because if you're not, our job just got a lot harder," Morgan said and they sat in silence for a long while.

The door to the conference room opened and an officer told them that Stephen Wainwright was there to see them. Hotch left the room, and Morgan was left alone with Reid, JJ and Emily.

"So Reid… who was that fine looking woman standing next to you at the press conference?" Morgan asked with a knowing smile.

"She's Jessie's mother." JJ answered before Reid could open his mouth.

"She was looking at you like she was dying of thirst and you were a big glass of ice cold water."

"Shut up Morgan!"

"Come on my man, tell us all about her. She has the hots for you."

Reid opened his mouth and then closed it again. It was no use getting into it with Morgan. The man had no sense of when to stop. He got up from his chair, ignoring Morgan and left the room. He wanted to do something, or talk to someone that would lead him to Jessie, but his brain wouldn't work like it always did. All he could think about was Kayla. He walked aimlessly through the precinct and out the door. He went around the corner of the building and ran into Kayla, nearly knocking her to the ground,

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.


	7. Making Connections

_A/n thanks so much to all my loyal readers and reviewer. I appreciate all feedback and suggestions. Thanks to my wonderful beta REIDFANATIC, who keeps me on track. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my original characters._

_**Making connections**_

"So what do you think's going on with our resident genius and the fine looking Kayla Rogers?" Morgan asked as he and Emily got back into the SUV that had dropped them off at the precinct. Morgan started the engine and they pulled out behind the officers that were accompanying them to talk to Henry Sparks.

"I think you should leave it alone. He doesn't want to talk about it." Emily said.

"Come on Emily… he knows the mother of the victim. Don't you think that's a little interesting?"

"Yes… okay… I think it's very interesting, but I'm not going to pester him about it. He has the right to his privacy. When he wants to tell you about it… he will."

They had turned onto the Strip and Emily was watching the lights that never went out even in the daytime. The desert light was bright on the eyes even in mid-autumn. She pushed on her sunglasses and observed the people going in and out of the casinos. Didn't these people have lives and families? It was the middle of the work day for God's sake.

"Alright, don't have an aneurysm. I'm just saying that leaving romance to Reid is like leaving Homer Simpson in charge of that nuclear plant. The possibilities for a meltdown are astronomical."

"Very funny Morgan… Can we get back to the case at hand?"

"I'm concerned how the un-sub knew that Jessie would choose this day to disobey her mother and walk home."

"Why do you think that?" Emily asked choosing to ignore the crowded streets. It was too frantic for her to watch.

"He took this girl in broad daylight. He was watching her closely, even when she was in school. He doesn't have a nine to five job, or he works from home. He must be able to blend into the environment. His economic status is the same or higher than the neighborhood he's watching."

Emily's phone rang, "Prentiss," she answered, straightening around in her seat.

"_We just got a call from the crime lab and they found something interesting at what we think is the abduction site. It looks like Jessie got about a block from the school and for some reason she went behind a row of hedges next to a new home being constructed. There was a lot of debris from the construction site to be eliminated, but we did find cigarette butts near the hedges. The lab tested all of them and eliminated anyone that worked at the scene. There was one brand that had unknown DNA."_

"Thanks JJ… Did the lab say anything else?"

"_Yeah… there are some footprints that don't match the boots that most of the workmen wear. They're a men's size 10. The lab is looking into the type of the shoe, but they don't have anything conclusive yet. Hotch asked me to go back over the cases from Utah and Colorado and see if they found anything like this at their crime scenes._

"Okay… let us know if you find anything." Emily shut her phone and related what JJ had told her to Morgan.

"So… I'm the un-sub. I'm watching a little girl from a construction site. No one thinks anything of it because I'm supposed to be there. If there was work going on there how did he grab her without anyone seeing anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe no one was working there that day. I've driven past homes under construction on a weekday and no one's been around. Maybe the person or family building the house ran out of money and construction stopped."

"Call Garcia… she can find out if that's the case." Morgan said.

Emily got on the phone with Garcia. The home was being built for the Carter family and construction had halted because the foundation had already begun to crack. The family was suing the building company.

"Well… it looks like Wainwright's company is up to their old tricks." Emily said, slapping the phone shut. She relayed to Morgan what Garcia had told her. Morgan whistled and shook his head.

"Garcia is going to call Hotch. He'll have a field day with this information. His interview with Stephen Wainwright just got a lot more interesting."

They pulled onto the street where Sparks lived and parked at an angle to the driveway. The officers exited their vehicle and were followed by Prentiss and Morgan. Morgan knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer.

"FBI Mr. Sparks… Open up!" He knocked again. He nodded at Emily and they pulled their guns. The officers with them took the back door down at the same time Morgan and Emily entered the front door.

"Henry Sparks… Las Vegas PD… If you're here… show yourself now." One officer called into the house.

They cleared the small house. Emily entered a bathroom at the end of the hallway and called back to Morgan. The smell of death was rising out of the room like a noxious cloud, and she choked on it, turning her head away,

"I found him!" She called back. The man was laying half out of the bathtub. He'd taken a shotgun blast to the abdomen.

The officers and Morgan came down the hall. "Damn!" Morgan said.

"I'm no expert, but I'd say he's been here for awhile." Morgan commented.

"Yeah… another dead end," Emily said.

"I'll call Hotch." Morgan said, backing away from the room and into fresher air.

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"Mr. Wainwright. I'm Special Agent Hotchner of the BAU. I appreciate your coming down here to talk to us." Hotch took a chair across from the man in the interrogation room.

Steven Wainwright was about five ten. He had black hair and bright blue eyes. He had the type of face women would flock to. His smile was white and dazzling, and he reminded Hotch strongly of Christopher Reeve when he was Superman. Hotch could see how this man had become the favorite to win the available senatorial seat.

"Agent Hotchner… I'm very happy to cooperate with the authorities. Kayla Rogers is a valued member of my staff and I want to do everything I can to find her little girl."

"I'm very glad to hear that. How long has Kayla Rogers worked for your campaign?" Hotch inquired, his face as grim as it always was. The other man was smiling his best dealing with the public smile. He couldn't know that charm didn't work on Aaron Hotchner. He'd been a prosecutor and knew the drill. He wasn't one of the best profilers in the world because he was good looking.

"Kayla's worked for me for about a year. She was working for Mendelssohn and Turner when I met her. They're the best PR firm in the Mountain West and I stole her from them." He said, with a self congratulatory smile.

"How much time do you spend with her outside the job?" Hotch asked. The other man kept his smile, but a shadow passed into and out of his eyes for just a brief moment, and his hands fiddled with the paper cup of coffee his was drinking.

"Kayla and I don't socialize outside of the campaign. Yes… we attend fund-raisers and other social functions, but I don't see her outside of that. I'm a happily married man and I don't like what you're implying." His hands were clenched together now and his smile was gone.

"I'm not implying anything. I'm saying it outright. You present the picture of a happily married man, but in reality you'd love to bed your press agent. What did she do, reject you, and this is your way of teaching her a lesson?" Hotch sat back in his chair and stared at the man in front of him.

"I'm here because my lawyer thought it was in my best interest to talk to you and the police. I don't appreciate the accusations and neither will my lawyer. I didn't take that little girl. When have I had the time? I was at a fund-raiser at another school when Jessie went missing. You can ask Kayla herself, it's why she was late picking up her daughter. I feel responsible that her mother wasn't there to protect her."

The man's tone had become self righteous again, and he was leaning forward in his chair and looking right in Hotch's eyes. The man may be a lecherous prick, but Hotch was sure he wasn't their man.

"Fine… we'll talk to Kayla and the school. Do you know anyone that would want to hurt Ms Rogers? Is there anyone you noticed hanging around or watching her?" Hotch asked.

Wainwright relaxed in his chair and his hands went back to resting on the table in front of him. "The only person I've had trouble with was a man named Henry Sparks."

Hotch's phone rang and he held up a finger to the other man. "Hotch!"

"_We're at Henry Sparks' home. He isn't our guy"_

"Why not, Morgan," Hotch asked?

"_He's dead. Shot with a shotgun at what looks like point blank range."_

"Thanks Morgan." He shut his phone and told Wainwright what he'd just learned.

"That's too bad," Wainwright said, looking at his nails.

"Yeah… convenient if you ask me. Henry Sparks was suing your company, and I'll bet that was about to come out. You couldn't let the press get a hold of that information."

"We're done here Agent Hotchner. You be sure to contact my lawyer if you have anything to back up your accusations."

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"What are you doing here?" Reid said, backing away from Kayla as though she were a wild animal.

"I'm trying to find out what's going on. I want to know what you guys are doing to find my daughter." She shot back. Tears welled up in her red eyes and began to fall over her cheeks. "I don't know why you're treating me this way Spencer!"

"I'm not treating you in any particular way."

"Yes… you are. You won't look at me. You talk to me like you're angry. We used to be best friends! Why are you treating me like this? I just want to be in the loop about my daughter. I can't lose her."

She threw herself into his arms again, and this time he let her embrace him without pulling away. Another memory invaded his head even though he was trying not to think of that day.

_Reid's dad had left the day before, putting a note to Spencer and his mother on the kitchen counter top. Reid found it when he went downstairs to make lunch for his mother. It was summer vacation. All the kids in the neighborhood looked forward to the holidays. Reid hated them. He had to be home all the time with his mother and father. _

_His father told them in the note that he couldn't take care of a freak for a son and his sick mother. He knew he was weak, but he couldn't stay with them and deal with their individual quirks. He wanted a normal life, and starting another practice in another state was the best thing for him. He assured them that they would never want for anything financially. He was setting up a trust for them and he knew Spencer was smart enough to deal with it. _

_Spencer had left the note on the counter and left the house. He couldn't even cry. He was ten years old and his father was talking to him like he was one of the lawyers in his firm. He wanted to be happy that his dad was gone, but he wasn't. Yes… his father had belittled him for spouting off statistics and useless knowledge all the time, but he still loved his dad. It was his fault that Dad was leaving and there was no way around it. _

_He forgot about making his mother food. She was asleep and would never know the difference if he left, so he put the spare key his mother had given him in one of her more lucid moments in his front pocket, and left the house. He locked the door behind him. _

_He went down the driveway and into the heat of the desert day. He reached the end of the driveway and turned onto the sidewalk. _

"_Hey Spencer… where're you going," her voice asked from behind him? _

"_Hi Kayla..." He didn't turn around and she walked up next to him. Her bruises were healing from the last beating at her mother's hands. She wore a white sun dress and a pink ribbon tied up her ponytail. He thought she was even prettier than his mother._

_She looked at him. "What's the matter Spencer?"_

"_Nothing… I don't want to talk about it." He said very testily._

"_Fine… I'll just go to the playground alone. I don't want to play with you anyway." She sped up and began to run down the street. _

_He followed her slowly to the school playground. They always played in the trees at the back of the playground so no one bothered them or tried to beat up on him. She was sitting under his favorite tree when he saw her again._

"_Go away!" Kayla whispered. He could see she was crying._

"_I'm sorry Kayla." He sat down on the ground next to her and watched a couple of ants running around on the black earth. He wondered if they were looking for food._

"_Why are you so mad?" She asked again. She never let him sulk. _

"_My dad left. He went away and it's my fault. He thinks I'm a freak."_

"_You're not a freak Spencer. Your dad's stupid." She declared, and the conviction in her voice made him want to laugh, but he didn't, tears started to fall instead._

_She put her head on his shoulder just like she did the first time they met. "I have to go to." She said quietly._

"_Why, you just got here, is your mother -"_

"_No… there was a police guy that came to the house with this lawyer guy and they said that I had to go live with my aunt."_

_Spencer didn't look at her; he was looking at the ants again. Now there were four of them moving around what looked like a cookie crumb to his left. He should have known this was going to happen. There was a very funny feeling in his stomach that was making him feel sick. _

"_Spencer… what's wrong."_

"_What's wrong, my dad leaves and now you're moving away. It's not fair." He got up and kicked his foot into the big tree root that was half buried in the ground in front of the tree._

"_I don't want to go. I told the lawyer guy that I don't want to go, but he said that my mother wasn't taking care of me right and I had to go with my aunt." She stood up and grabbed his hand. "The adults never listen to us… do they?" _

_The adults never listened to him unless they wanted him to impress someone from the school district, or make them look good with his science fair entries, or math test scores. He wasn't a machine to perform for them when they wanted, and someone to ignore when if was convenient._

"_Don't worry Kayla we'll always be friends. We can write letters to each other. We'll see each other again." He told her, even though he knew the chances of that were about 896 to… He made himself stop thinking about the statistics. Other kids didn't think that way. He wanted to be normal like other kids and Kayla was the only one that made him feel that way._

"_I got something for you." He pulled an object wrapped in paper out of his pants pocket. "I went to the arcade and got this out of the machine. He showed her a gold ring with a piece of bright red glass set in the center. It was a round stone and it glinted in the afternoon sun. "It was pretty lucky that I got it. The chances of putting a quarter in the machine and getting a good prize out are about 215 to one." He said nervously. _

"_It's pretty Spencer." She said in awe. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Thanks Spencer."_

"_I thought that this could be like a promise ring." He was red in the face.  
_

"_What's a promise ring?" Kayla asked putting the ring on her pinky. _

"_Ah - I've seen the older k-kids in school g-give these to their girlfriends. It m-means that we p-promise that when we're g-grown up we'll be engaged," Reid said very fast, his voice getting higher with every word._

"_Oh… you mean get married." Kayla said looking at him in a very strange way._

"_Y-yes," He looked at the ground again, finding the ants very interesting._

"_Okay… I'll always wear it." She leaned over and kissed his cheek._

Reid pulled away again and Kayla was looking at him with questions in her eyes. "Spencer, what's wrong now."

"I was thinking of the last time I saw you." He told her. She flushed and looked at the brick wall of the precinct.

"I remember… Spencer I'm sorry I stopped writing to you. My aunt found the last letter you sent to me."

"Oh… I didn't -"

"She was a religious fanatic. She didn't mind that I wrote to you when I was a child, but when you sent that letter to me and told me that you loved me, and you wanted us to keep our promise to each other, she went crazy. She said that I was a harlot. She said that it was a sin for a thirteen year old to have a boy writing letters to her that spoke of love. She made me stop writing to you. She locked me in my room for days. She beat me like my mother and called me a whore. She said that she would pray the devil out of me. She made me pray with her for hours at a time. We didn't have a phone or a computer. I couldn't sneak a letter to you. She would have known."

She was crying again and she threw herself back into his arms. "I'm sorry Kayla. I didn't know."

He was cut off from this apology when she kissed him. How many times had he though of kissing her? Even the knowledge that he was supposed to be trying to find her daughter didn't stop him from kissing her back enthusiastically. It was completely different from what he imagined it would be with her. It was like coming home. He didn't know what it was like to be home until that minute and a most strange thing happened in that instant. His mind seemed to sharpen, and he thought of something he hadn't considered before. He pulled gently away from her.

"Spencer… what is it?"

"I think I know who took your daughter." He said.


	8. The Knight

_Disclaimer: Nothing recognizable for CM is owned by me._

_**The Knight **_

Jessie crawled to one side of the bed she was sitting on when the key in the lock turned. Maybe the scary man was coming back. She didn't want him to come back. He called her Sarah. Her name is Jessie. Why did he call her Sarah and tell her that she had to have a new mommy. She wanted her own mommy back.

The door opened and the scary man came in. He had a tray like the kind her mommy used when she was sick. Jessie didn't feel sick. She was really hungry and thirsty. He put the tray on the stand next to her bed and looked at her. She could see the funny look in his eyes that she saw before and it made her stomach feel sick. She wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. Maybe he would be gone when she woke up again and she would be back with her mommy. Maybe her mommy's knight would come while she was asleep and save her.

"I brought a sandwich and milk for you Sarah. I know you're hungry."

"I'm not Sarah. My name is Jessie. I want mommy. I want to go home." She yelled at him. He looked really red in the face, just like mean old Justin at school when he pushed her down and the teacher made him stay after school.

"You're home Sarah. You're with your family. We love you now. Please eat the sandwich. You can't get sick." He picked up one half of the sandwich and held it out to her, but she shrank away trembling.

"Its peanut butter and grape jelly. It's your favorite… remember?"

She liked peanut butter and jelly, and she was really hungry. Her tummy still felt sick though. The man wasn't red in the face anymore. She scrambled across the bed and took the sandwich.

"That's right, you'll like it." He told her. "When you're done you can have the other surprise Sarah." She looked at the tray and there was a box of paints just like the ones she had at home. There was a pad of paper and a paint brush. She took a big bit of the sandwich and the man pointed to the glass of milk on the tray.

"There is some milk for you to drink. You can have the paints when you're done."

He smiled at her, but it was a scary smile, like a boy she saw once that killed a kitten right in front of her. The kitten didn't do anything to him, and Jessie had screamed. The little boy had hit her face and she screamed again. A lady saw him hit her and made him stop. Her mommy said the little boy had to go away. Jessie was glad he went away. When her mommy's knight came to get her, he would make the man go away.

Jessie ate the sandwich and drank the milk. She smiled for the man, and he smiled that terrible smile again and then he left the room. She was glad when he left. She didn't know when her mommy's knight would come to get her. Mommy said that knights protected you. She said that sometimes the knight had to fight monsters to get to the princess. Maybe her mommy's knight had to fight a dragon or something scary. She had waited hours and hours; maybe her mommy's knight didn't know where to find her. How could he find her when her mommy didn't know where she was? She would say another prayer, and God would tell the knight and he would fight the scary man and kill the monster.

Jessie finished her milk and looked at the paint set. She wanted to paint a picture, but maybe if the knight didn't find her, she could find away to get away from the monster and get home to her mommy. She knew the knight would come, but just in case he didn't come, she would get ready.

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He was pleased, the little girl was happy with the paints he brought her. He would give her the magic tricks next, and soon she would forget her mother and she would accept her new life. He was happy; he didn't want to give her up.

He wasn't worried about the police and the FBI. He knew they weren't even close to finding him. They would look for her and then they would forget. Her mother was very pretty and she would have another child. His Sarah was back and that was the only thing that mattered to him. He went upstairs. He would wake his wife and tell her that Sarah was home and they would be a family again.

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Spencer turned to run into the precinct. He was stopped by Kayla grabbing his arm. "Spencer… you can't just say you know who took her and run off. What do you know?"

"Kayla I can't explain. I have to talk to our computer tech, and then I need to talk to your boss before he leaves." He said, completely distracted by the suspicion gathering in his head. How had he not seen it?

He pulled away from her and ran to the door. She followed him inside trying to get his attention, but he was already on the phone to Garcia.

_"Empress of all that is technical, present your tribute and be recognized."_

"Garcia… its Reid, can you look up property records and tell me who built the homes for the families of the victims, and is there a connection to where they were found when dumped."

He heard Kayla gasp in horror behind him, but he had to ignore her.

_"Sugar pie… you disappoint me. I thought you had a challenge for me."_

He could hear her fingers flying of the keys of her babies and it was the sound of salvation for Jessie. Garcia never let him down.

_"Good call Dr. Reid. It was Wainwright Builders."_

"Yeah… I thought so. Can you find out who was the security expert on all the homes? The files said that the first two victims had a state of the art alarm system included in their packages." He turned to Kayla who was white in the face and she nodded.

"Garcia, Kayla Rogers has one of the systems as well."

_"You're on a roll sweet pea. They were designed by Wainwright's former security expert. His name is Richard Curtis."_

"You said former Security Expert."

_"Yeah… A year ago his wife Gina killed their daughter, and then she killed herself. Curtis quit working for Wainwright and began to contract independently. He's worked in every city where they girls have gone missing and I have an address for you in Las Vegas."_

She gave him the address and he hung up. Excitement began to course through his blood. There were times he hated his job, but he never denied liking the adrenaline rush that came with putting the puzzle together and finding a victim before the un-sub hurt them.

He ran to the conference room and opened the door. Stephen Wainwright was right in front of him and for the second time that morning, he nearly knocked someone to the ground.

"Reid…what is it." Hotch asked seeing the hectic excitement in his young agents face.

"Oh… sorry," Reid said. "Mr. Wainwright, can you tell me about Richard Curtis." Reid asked without preamble.

"Mr. Wainwright this is one of the profilers on my team. Dr. Spencer Reid." Hotch said looking a little bemused at the excited expression on his agent's face.

The door shut and they sat down again. Wainwright was about to speak when the door opened again. "Spencer what are you doing. I want to know what's going on!" Kayla said rather loudly. She looked like she wanted to stamp her foot and didn't because her boss was there.

"Kayla… please you have to leave. I need to talk to your boss."

"Spencer… Don't shut me out. This is my little girl and I want to know -" JJ suddenly entered the room and gently but firmly took Kayla with her. Kayla went loudly protesting, she glared daggers back at Reid, but Hotch noticed the young man wasn't paying attention to her. He wanted to laugh, but the situation was too serious. Reid had that look that said he'd found something important.

"Dr. Reid… I don't know why Curtis would have anything to do with this. He was a troubled man with a troubled family. His wife was schizophrenic. When she took her meds, she was okay and functioned well. When she didn't she was -"

"I don't need a lecture on paranoid schizophrenics Mr. Wainwright. I know what their behavior is like if they don't take their meds." Reid said firmly and Wainwright raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You said Mr. Curtis was troubled, was it because of his wife or was there something else."

"I don't know. He wasn't diagnosed with any mental disorder that I know of, if that's what you're thinking. He was the best security designer I ever worked with. I wish he'd stayed with the company, but I guess he couldn't cope. He didn't need the money. His mother left him a lot of money when she died."

Wainwright's face shut down after he said that and Reid's eyes narrowed. "What happened to his mother?" He asked bluntly.

Wainwright shifted in his seat. "What has that got to do with Jessie's disappearance?"

"What happened to her?" Reid repeated leaning forward and getting into the other man's face.

"She committed suicide just after his wife and daughter died. She couldn't cope with the loss of her grand daughter."

Reid looked up at Hotch. "He's got her Hotch. He's trying to replace the daughter he lost. Garcia gave me an address."

"Let's go!" They left the room leaving Wainwright to sit staring at the mirror on one side of the room. It was all going down the drain.

The door opened and an officer came in. "Steven Wainwright… you have the right to remain silent…

"What are you doing? I've got nothing to do with this." He protested as the office pulled him to a standing position and cuffed his hands.

"You're being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder." Wainwright listened in stunned silence as the officer finished the Miranda warning, explained that the he would be questioned about the murder of Henry Sparks, and led him away.

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JJ and Kayla were in a separate conference room, and JJ was trying to calm her down when the rest of the team flew by with bullet proof vests and flack jackets. SWAT officers followed them and Kayla ran for the door before JJ could stop her.

"Spencer… Where are you going?" She yelled. He didn't hear her and JJ grabbed her arm from behind.

"Ms Rogers… come with me!" JJ pulled her back into the conference room.

"Let me go!"

"Kayla…" JJ said firmly and loudly. "He'll find her and bring her back. You have to believe in that. I believe in this team… they're the best in the world!"

Kayla turned and looked her directly in the eye. "Do you believe in him?"

"Yes… I do! He's the best man I know."

"You love him… don't you?" Kayla said unexpectedly.

"Yes… but not the way you think. I used to care for him that way, but it's been over for us for a long time. We're friends… nothing more."

She took Kayla to the table and they sat down. She took one of the woman's hands and held it tight. It was trembling badly.

"I always knew there was someone else in his heart. He loved me as best as he could, but his true heart and mind have always been with you. He spoke of you a few times, and there was always great pain in his eyes." Her grip tightened on Kayla hands, letting the woman know she wouldn't let Kayla hurt him again.

"I'm sorry he's been hurting for so long, but so have I." She told JJ everything, including how her aunt had split up their fragile teenage romance.

"Why didn't you tell anyone your aunt was doing this? How did she get custody of you in the first place?"

Kayla didn't look offended at JJ's questions. She looked relived. "I guess it was like with Spencer. You don't want to tell anyone that will take you from the only family you have. My aunt was kind to me until she found that letter. I don't know why she got so angry. Maybe she was having mental problems like Spencer's mother."

"You know about Diana Reid?" JJ asked.

"Yes… she was always nice to me when she took her meds. If she wasn't, Spencer wouldn't let me in the house." Kayla replied, dabbing her handkerchief at her eyes.

JJ looked at the other woman and saw her own feelings reflected in the eyes of the other. How had such a kind and gentle man grown in that environment and come out sane.

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The ride to the address that Garcia had given him was the longest of his life. What were they going to find? She'd been gone less then a day and he'd always kept them three days, but what if he decided to alter his pattern.

"Hey man… we're going to find her and when we do, you can show her a few magic tricks." Morgan said from beside him. He grinned at his young partner, but his own heart was heavy. He hated it when children were the targets of the crazies they chased. It was always the innocent ones that suffered, and it made his blood boil.

Spencer didn't reply to Morgan. He knew the older man was trying to distract him. He wouldn't be distracted. He had to find Jessie; he couldn't face Kayla if he didn't.

The SUVs and the cop car turned into the quiet street, and stopped in front of the three story house at the end of the lane. It was old and unkempt. The white paint was peeling and was turning an ugly gray color. They had left their light and sirens off. They didn't want the man to kill her in a panic.

They let the SWAT go in first. Morgan, Emily, Hotch and Reid followed them as they took down the doors.

Emily grimaced at the smell of decay in the air. There was dust everywhere, and the paint and wallpaper was falling off the walls in ragged strips around them. They began to clear the rooms but found nothing until they got to the third floor.

Morgan and Emily entered the last bedroom and Morgan cursed loudly. "What the f-"

On the dusty and spider web covered bed laid a decayed body wearing a long dress that used to be white and was now yellowed and torn. The lace on the collar and the cuffs of the sleeves was half torn away and in one hand, there were faded red roses.

"My God… what is going on?" Emily asked, before she was hit from behind.


	9. Checkmate

_Disclaimer: Once again, they don't belong to me. I own only my own original characters._

_**Checkmate **_

"See Molly… I told you she was the right one. She's our little Sarah. She's perfect!" Richard said excitedly to the moldering corpse in front of him. Of course… he didn't see the decomposing body on the bed. He saw her as she was the day he married her. Her hair was silky and golden blond. It was the rare blond that didn't darken with age. Her eyes were hazel and sparkling. Her skin was the rose leaf complexion that existed only in romance novels.

"You say she's the one, that she's perfect, but how long till she misbehaves. Sarah was a bad little girl. I had to punish her."

"She wasn't a bad girl -"

His comment was cut off by low voices and foot steps. They were here. They'd found his house, his sanctuary from the world. He listed hard in the silence of the upper floor, and there it was, a shoe on the creaky third step up from the landing. Damn it! He'd have to do what must be done.

"Hurray…" His wife whispered in a snarling tone. "You led them to us. You're useless and stupid. Now hide and then take care of the girl."

He hated her telling him what to do. He was going to kill her. His plans hadn't worked, and he would kill her. There was another scrape of shoe leather and low voices. It would have to wait. He backed quickly away from the bed till his back hit the marble fire place. The latch was found from memory and the façade swung away from the wall. When the agents entered the room just ten seconds after he slipped into the crack, they didn't see his hiding place. He slipped out when their backs were turned. The big black agent was just about to say something to the woman next to him, when he hit her with the gun he carried. She fell and the black man turned to him. He pistol whipped then man to the floor and then kicked him in the ribs for good measure. Neither of them got off the floor and he went back to the hidden passage way.

The house was in the oldest neighborhood in Vegas. It had been built in the forties and the original builder, who was his wife's grandfather, had built in a series of hidden tunnels. The family had owned several casinos, and needed to hide from mob enforcers till the corporations and law enforcement cleaned out the mob. Now the house was all that was left from the inheritance his wife had come into six months before he married her.

He hurried down the stairs turning left and then right. The rats, spiders and other creatures that lived in the walls didn't bother him. The dark didn't bother him, he knew this way like the back of his hand. Cob webs hit his face and once a spider crawled over his face and head before dropping off his back. He didn't care; he had to get to the girl, before the feds did. He wouldn't let them have her, she was his.

The girl screamed again when the panel across from her bed opened and he flew into the room. "Sarah darling we have company. They came to take you away from me. I'm sorry… I have to stop them." He raised a trembling hand. Sarah screamed again and burst into tears. There were tears falling down his face and his gun hand was shaking.

"Just do it, you fucking bastard!" Molly shouted.

"No… I can't do it!" He shouted lowering the gun.

"Do I have to do everything?" Molly growled.

His hand began to rise again and the little girl was screaming for help. He heard her say something about a knight. There were other voices outside the locked door. He should have known there would be others with the feds.

"I don't want to hurt her. Please don't make me hurt Sarah." He said breathlessly, his arm lowering the gun again.

"You're pathetic… do it now!"

"No… I don't want to Molly. Please…" The gun was rising toward the girl.

There was shouting and the door smashed open, but it was all in a dream. Someone was telling him to put down the gun, but he didn't listen. All he could hear was her voice telling him to do it. Sarah slid off the bed. A glass of some black liquid he hadn't noticed fell out of her hand as she ran to a tall, thin man that had entered the room behind two SWAT agents bristling with weapons. They were yelling at him to drop the gun, but he didn't hear them. He turned and pulled the trigger just as the girl threw herself into the man's arms. The sound was loud, but not as deafening as the two gun blasts that were fired at the same time. There was pain in his chest and he fell to the floor with Molly's screams echoing in his ears. Then it was black and silent!

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Reid watched Emily and Morgan take the stairs to the upper floors. Hotch and two SWAT agents went through to the living room. The house was filthy. There were stacks of magazines and books all over the entryway. Some of the stacks were as tall as Reid.

"Look out for bobby traps." Hotch called back.

Reid had already considered and rejected that possibility. This un-sub hadn't intended to be found. He wouldn't have secured his residence against the police. That was evidenced by the fact that the front door was unlocked.

The windows were covered by yellowed lace curtains that were tattered and filthy. The walls were covered with the most garish looking wallpaper he'd ever seen in his life. The roses had once been red, but now they were an awful, tacky pick color and the faded green vines reminded him of the creeper vines his mother had growing around the house, in spite of the Vegas heat. He'd had nightmares about them coming to life and strangling him after his father left.

They made their way carefully to the kitchen. The how was quietly cleared and there was no sign of the un-sub. Then a loud scream came from one end of the kitchen. A door stood open and he thought the sound came from the basement.

"Stay back Dr. Reid." The bigger of his two SWAT companions said. They ran down the steps into a basement hallway. There was only one door straight ahead of them. He thought he heard two voices and the screams of a little girl.

Was it Jessie? Had they found her at last? He didn't know what to feel if they had. This was the first time since Randall Gardner had exposed all he'd told his mother in confidence, that he'd had a case impact him personally. Okay there was Tobias, but…. The two SWAT agents were taking down the door and the adrenaline began to pour through his veins in earnest. His heart was leaping so hard in his chest; he was beginning to get dizzy.

The door crashed in and he followed the agents into a small room that resembled the rest of the house he'd seen. He barely had time to register the fact that an ordinary man was pointing a gun at a small girl crouching on a crumpled bed before she launched herself off the bed and ran at him.

"You're my mommy's knight," she cried out inexplicably. What was she talking about? The agents were yelling at the man to put down his gun and turn around. The girl threw her arms around him, crying hard, and at the same time there was a gunshot and burning pain. He fell to the ground with the girl lying unmoving on his chest.

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Morgan opened his eyes and got slowly to his knees. His head hurt like a son of a bitch and he shook it to clear it. That was a mistake. He got dizzy and fell back on his heels.

"What the hell happened?" He moaned loudly and then groaned when pain shot through his head again. His side hurt with every breath. He chastised himself for being so stupid. Who ever had hit him had come out of nowhere. Why had they missed it? He shouldn't have let the body on the bed distract him.

"Oh… shit!" He turned quickly and saw that Emily was out cold on the floor.

"Emily… Come on Prentiss… wake up!" He crawled to her; he couldn't get to his feet. "Emily… Wake up. We gotta get back to work. You can't nap on the job!" He jiggled her shoulder.

She didn't move or respond at all. Fear began to heat up the blood in his veins. He reached out to touch her neck. His hand was shaking and it made him angry. He touched her and found a strong pulse. The relief he felt at the evidence that she was okay, made his whole body tremble.

Emily groaned and he watched her eyelids begin to flutter. "Hey Prentiss… time to get up." He said trying to sound flippant and unconcerned.

Her eyes opened, and rolled around for a moment before resting on his face. "What the hell happened?" She muttered with a little slur in her voice. She tried to move and yelped in pain.

He put a hand on one shoulder and gently held her down. "Stay where you are. You got a nice lump on your head Emily."

"Jesus… how did he…" Her eyes filled with sudden concern and fear. "What about the girl, did we find her?"

"I don't know, he hit me too," He rubbed the knot on his head and smile ruefully. "I was stupid. I got distracted." He rasped.

"Hey… I was here too. It wasn't your fault. I didn't check the corner; I broke the rules of -"

She was cut off by the sound of voices and the pounding of feet on the stairs. Morgan was trying to get his gun, which had fallen on the floor, when the door flew open. Hotch was on the other side and Emily rolled over on her back breathing heavily in relief.

"Jesus… Hotch you scare the hell out of me." Morgan said, finally reaching his gun and holstering it.

"What happened to you two?" Hotch asked. He knelt next to Emily and began to look her over, concern marring the otherwise grim features of the SAC.

"I'm all right Hotch, just a bump on the head." She tried to sit up, but fell back into her bosses arms.

"Yeah… I can see that you are." Hotch said. He looked up at Morgan. "Are you okay?"

Morgan got to his feet swaying a little, but he stayed upright. "I'm fine… but she needs medical attention.

"Give me a break Morgan. I'm no shrinking violet." She tried to get up again, but was too dizzy.

"Right… I want to get you downstairs and into an ambulance. You can join Reid and Jessie Rogers there.

"What… Hotch what happened to Reid." Morgan's face twisted in anger. "Where is that son of a bitch?"

"Our killer was shot twice by SWAT. He's on his way to the hospital as well, they don't know if he'll make it or not." Hotch said calmly. He got on his radio and called up the medics.


	10. At the Hospital

_A/n hey there everyone, here's another chapter for your consideration. Thanks to all who continue to support this story through reviews or adding it to your alerts. Feedback is a wonderful gift. _

_Disclaimer: Nope... I looked very carefully and I don't own them. The original characters are mine._

_**At the Hospital **_

Hotch and JJ arrived at Mercy General Hospital about fifteen minutes behind the ambulance carrying Morgan and Emily. Hotch had called Kayla and she was on her way to join them.

"I'm the emergency contact for Spencer Reid and I want to know how he is." Hotch demanded of a tall blond nurse at the emergency room check-in.

"I'm Dr. Rosenberg." A voice said from behind Hotch. He turned to face a small dark haired woman in scrubs. "You're agent is fine. The bullet grazed his arm. He'll have to have a few stitches, but there's no major damage to bone, or muscle."

Hotch visibly relaxed and JJ let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Thank you doctor, can we see him?"

"No… he's getting patched up. I'll let you know when you can see him." She smiled and patted him on the arm before going back to her patients.

"What about Jessie." JJ asked anxiously? That little girl had to be okay for her mother's sake. In spite of all the obvious hurt Kayla had done to Spence, JJ liked her and wanted her girl to be okay.

"They won't tell us. I'm not her emergency contact or parent. We'll know when Kayla gets here."

They were allowed to go see Spencer a few minutes later. He was bandaged and his shirt was beyond repair, but he was awake and smiling.

"Where's Morgan? I thought he'd be chomping at the bit to make some remark about me getting shot."

"He and Prentiss are in rooms upstairs, they both have prize winning bumps and slight concussions."

Reid smile faltered. "What the hell happened?"

"I'll tell you later. You need rest."

Reid went to get off the bed. "I'm not staying here." He stood and grimaced, the pain in his arm was cranking up. He had to refuse narcotics and the pain meds they had given him were only partly effective.

"Reid… You need -" Hotch was cut off by the appearance of Kayla in the room. She ignored him and JJ and launched herself at Reid. He groaned when she hugged him hard.

"Oh… I'm sorry Spencer. What happened? Where is my little girl? They won't tell me anything. They say I have to wait for the doctor. Thank you so much, you saved my baby!" She said all of this very fast and followed it up with a kiss that would have given Morgan teasing ammunition for weeks if he'd been there to see it.

Reid couldn't extricate himself from her embrace as he only had one good arm, so he decided to enjoy it.

"Hey Spence… you're supposed to be hurt remember." JJ said good-naturedly.

Kayla pulled away and she was blushing harder than Reid. He was grinning happily at all of them. The pain in his arm was better for some reason.

"Sorry Hotch…" He looked guiltily at his boss but Hotch was smiling. It was good to see Reid happy.

Dr. Rosenberg entered the room at that precise minute and looked Reid over with a critical eye. "I see you're not following orders Dr. Reid." She gave Hotch a conspiratorial grin. "Doctors make the worst patients!"

"Well… I'm not a medical doctor I'm a PhD and -"

"Hey Spence… it was a joke." JJ cut in and they all laughed.

"I'm actually looking for Kayla Rogers." Dr. Rosenberg said. "They said she would be in here with you."

"I'm Kayla Rogers. Is my daughter okay? Can I see her?" She grabbed at the doctor like a life raft.

"The bullet hit her shoulder. It was a small caliber and it went all the way through the flesh. There's no bone damage. There's some muscle damage. She'll be out of surgery soon and she'll be fine. She'll need a little physical therapy, but there's no reason not to think she won't get the full use of her arm back." Dr. Rosenberg smiled encouragingly at Kayla.

"Thanks Doctor. When can I see her?" Kayla had relaxed, but she still clung to Reid's good hand. He squeezed it and the look she gave him made him warm all over.

"She's going to be in recovery for a couple of hours after surgery. I'll send a nurse to come get you when she's done."

"Doctor… Please stay for a moment," Kayla asked when the woman turned for the door. Kayla looked anxiously at Hotch and JJ. She seemed to be worried about the effect of her next words. "I want to thank you so much for finding my baby." She paused for a moment and looked up a Reid. He nodded slightly and addressed Hotch.

"Would you excuse us for a moment? Kayla need's to talk to the doctor and -"

"It's okay Reid." Hotch said, he clasped Reid good shoulder and gave him a rare smile. "I understand," he and JJ left the examination room and Kayla looked back at the doctor.

"Dr. Rosenberg… I don't know quite how to ask this, but my daughter was kidnapped and I wanted to know if he hurt her." Kayla asked going red in the face and looking utterly miserable.

Dr. Rosenberg looked pointedly at Reid, and Kayla told her it was okay to speak in front of him. The doctor gave both of them an encouraging smile.

"Your daughter is fine Ms Rogers. The only injury we found was the bullet wound."

Kayla sagged against Reid and he squeezed her hand again. "Thanks doctor," he said and the doctor left the room.

Reid let go of her hand and went back to his bed. When he'd gotten comfortable, he looked over to the chair Kayla had drawn up to sit close to him.

"She's okay Kayla. This isn't like what happened to you." Reid said bluntly.

"I know Spencer… I was so frightened. I spent all this time wondering if what happened to me in that room with those boys was happening to her, and I couldn't bear it."

"I wish I could've stopped them." He said wistfully. He was looking down at his hands and didn't see the expression on Kayla's face.

"Stop blaming yourself!" She said angrily. He jerked up in surprise at her tone. She was leaning forward in the chair and pointing a finger at him. Her hand was shaking.

"You did everything you could, and they beat you nearly senseless because you tried to stop them. They're responsible, not you and not me."

He stared in amazement because the old Kayla was back. This Kayla was the one that had fought off the boys that were beating him up all those years ago. He'd missed this Kayla very much.

She was still glaring at him and he began to laugh. She slapped his leg, hard. "Spencer Reid… What is so damn funny?"

"You reminded me of the day we met. It was always take no prisoners with you. I'm glad to see that again. You really scared me. I thought Jessie getting kidnapped had killed that part of you."

She was still red faced, but now it was from embarrassment. "I was such a little smart ass, all fired up to take on the world."

He took her hand in his good one again. "I like that in a woman." He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and she leaned in to kiss him again.

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Jessie's head was fuzzy when she opened her eyes. The ceiling was different and there were lots of lights.

"Mommy…" She said, her throat hurt and she was thirsty.

"Hey there cutie…" A kind voice said. There was a woman with red hair and lots of freckles standing next to her. She wore a funny green shirt, but her eyes were nice.

"I want my mommy."

"I know sweetie. I'll go get her for you. My name is Vickie and I'm going to be your nurse tonight okay?"

"Nurses take care of sick people. Am I sick?" Jessie asked in a raspy voice.

"No baby… you have a hurt shoulder. You'll be okay."

"Can I see my mommy now?"

"Okay little one… I'll go get her."

Jessie looked up at the ceiling and tried to remember what happened. The bad guy was gone and Miss Vickie said she could see her mommy. She bet that the knight had rescued her. Would he stay with them now? Would he come see her too? She hoped he would, she wanted to say thank you.

"Jessie… Sweetheart, you scared mommy so bad." He mommy was there and hugging her carefully so she didn't hurt her baby's arm. Jessie started to cry. She'd been scared for so long!

"I was scared Mommy. I didn't know where you were. I prayed that God would send the knight in the story. He came, didn't he Mommy?"

Kayla was red in the face again and she couldn't look at Spencer who looked like he'd just put the pieces of a very difficult puzzle together. He fidgeted next to her and Jessie saw him for the first time. He waved at her and she grinned at him.

"You're my mommy's knight. I knew you'd come to get me." She said happily.

"Sweetheart… how did you know who Spencer is?" He mother asked.

Kayla had let go of Jessie and the girl lay back on the pillows. At first she wouldn't tell them, but Kayla gently pried the truth out of her.

"I'm sorry Mommy. I wasn't supposed to be in your room, but I wanted some clothes to dress up in and I found that box with the pictures and the ring."

Kayla went even redder and ignored Spencer who was looking floored. "Honey… I told you not to get into Mommy's private things.

Jessie looked so upset that her mother smiled and relented. "I know you're sorry honey. I'm sorry I was mad. I was very worried about you and I'm glad you're going to be okay."

She introduced Spencer to her daughter and he mumbled out a hello getting redder with every word. The hero worship in the little girl's eyes was freaking him out a little.

"You're like the Knights of the Round Table. Can you do magic tricks?" Jessie asked excitedly. Her voice was still rough and Kayla gave her some water from the cup next to the bed.

"Ah - yeah…" He forgot to be shy and made a quarter appear from Jessie's ear and she laughed delightedly. He did a few more simple tricks, and then her eyes began to flutter shut.

Kayla kissed her on the forehead before they left the room. "I think you have a new admirer." Kayla said. He shot her a shy smile and she remembered the little boy he'd been.

Dr. Rosenberg was coming down the hallway when they turned out of the room. "Ms Rogers… I just wanted to tell you that everything went well and Jessie will make a full recovery. I want to keep her here for a couple of days and then she can go home."

"Dr. Rosenberg… can you tell me how Agents Morgan and Prentiss are." Reid asked.

"Oh yes… Agent Hotchner wanted me to tell you they're being released tomorrow. They're both fine. Agent Morgan is flirting with the nurses. He tried it on me too, but I'm happily married and he will stay put whether he likes it, or not."

Reid wanted to kiss her. Finally a female that stood up to Derek! "Yeah… don't let him charm them into letting him leave." He told her and she laughed.

"Don't worry Dr. Reid. He's here till I say he can leave."

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Morgan came looking for Reid the next morning. He wanted to get out of the hospital, but his usual charms weren't working on his doctor. He'd had two gorgeous nurses during his hours there, so he wasn't going to complain too much, but that Dr. Rosenberg was something else. She was beautiful, married and utterly immune to his charms. Maybe he was losing his touch.

Reid had come to see him with Kayla Rogers. That was another fine looking woman and he was amused to see the way she looked at Reid. If Reid played his cards right, he'd get some lovin' before they went back to Quantico.

He charmed a nurse into finding out where Jessie's room was. He wanted to find Reid and give him Hotch's message, and he wanted to see the little girl for himself.

He nearly tripped over his own chin when he entered the room. The cause of his gaping mouth was the sight of Reid lying back on the raised bed with the girl next to him, his arm around her, and Kayla sitting on a chair next to the bed.

All three of them had their eyes glued to the TV. He looked at the screen and saw three men fighting with what looked like brightly colored laser swords. He snorted inwardly at the impossible martial arts moves they were pulling off. One of the characters had a double laser sword. The computer effects were really good. The fast paced background music was engaging and perfectly timed to the moves of the actors. He wasn't sure but he thought maybe this was one of the Star Wars movies Reid liked so much.

"Well… This is pretty cozy." He said after recovering from his shock. All three of them jumped. Reid was so red he looked like a ripe cherry.

"Hi Morgan," he squeaked out.

"Don't you 'hi' me Reid." Morgan said with mock severity before giving in and laughing at the look on his partner's face.

"Did you want something, or are you just here to be a smart ass." Reid demanded.

"Yeah… I wanted to see how you're all doing and Hotch wants to talk to you." Morgan informed him.

"We're fine." Reid said, struggling off the bed.

"Jessie, this is Morgan. He's a profiler too." Reid said.

Jessie took one look at Morgan and then looked at her hands. She didn't say anything.

"Say hello Jessie." Her mother prompted, but the little girl just shook her head.

"I don't know why she's so shy all of a sudden" Kayla said.

"That's okay little lady. I just wanted to make sure you're okay." Morgan said with a grin.

"I've got to go talk to Hotch; I'll be back in a few minutes." Reid told Kayla and as he left with his partner, they heard Jessie say in a loud whisper to Kayla, "he's scary mommy"

Reid grinned at the older agent who looked like he'd just swallowed a worm in the bottom of a bottle of tequila.

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"Mommy, can Spencer stay here with us?" Jessie asked after the men left.

Kayla wanted Spencer to stay but she knew he couldn't. "No sweetie. He has to go back to his job. He has to help other people."

"I want him to stay with us." Jessie pouted.

"He has to go home sweet pea. He has a very important job. He helps people that can't help themselves."

"I don't care! I want him to stay here. He's the knight in the story. You said the story was true." Her eyes filled up with angry tears and her bottom lip was beginning to tremble.

"Honey… Spencer can't stay. I wish he could, but it wouldn't be fair to other little girls and boys like you. What if another little girl was selfish and he didn't find you when you needed him?"

Jessie was sobbing and Kayla moved to the bed and gathered her up carefully. "Jessie Laura Rogers… You're too big to fuss like this. You're a big girl and you know how to share. We have to share Spencer baby."

She knew how Jessie felt. Spencer would leave and what was she going to do then? Ever since they'd moved back to Las Vegas a year ago, she's ached for him and now he was here. It wasn't fair, but she had to let him go and so did Jessie.

"Honey... I know you like him. I like him too, but he has to go back to Quantico and help other people." Jessie didn't say anything, but continued to cry stormily in her mother's arms. When Reid returned, he was stunned at the way Jessie was crying.

"What happened?" He asked bewildered.

"We've got a problem Spencer." Kayla said looking helplessly at him.


	11. The Knight and the Princess

_A/n here it is folks, the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or add this to their favorites. A special thanks to REIDFANATIC for all of her help and encouragement. _

_Disclaimer: CM is not mine only my original characters belong to me. _

_**The Knight and the Princess**_

Kayla finally managed to get Jessie to let her go. The little girl lay back and sniffed. She wouldn't look at her mother or Spencer.

"I'll be outside with Spencer. I want to see a better attitude from you when I get back." Kayla warned her daughter. She understood why Jessie was mad, but her tantrum was unacceptable.

Jessie turned her head away from her mother and Spencer, and Kayla threw up her hands. "Come on Spencer." She took his hand and pulled him from the room.

"I'm sorry she's acting like that. I don't know what's gotten into her. She's usually so sweet and good-natured."

They stopped in the hallway outside of Jessie's room. Reid hadn't remarked on the tantrum, but he looked relieved to be out of the room.

Kayla explained to him everything about the knight and the stories she had told her little girl. "I never thought she would take it so much to heart."

She searched his face, older now, but still familiar to her in all its moods and thoughts. For once she was unable to tell what he was thinking.

"I wouldn't blame you for being furious with me. I had no right to make our story into a fairy tale."

She leaned back against the wall and sighed. "I thought I was going to start a new life here. I thought I could handle coming back to this city. I thought I was over everything, my mother, my aunt ruining our friendship, the rape, everything. I thought I had it all pushed down into the deepest part of my heart where the light of day couldn't touch it, but I was wrong. The minute I got back here it all came back. I made it into a story because if it was a fairy tale, there could be a happy ending. I'm sorry I…"

Tears stung in her eyes and throat. She was unable to go on. Reid had been standing rigid in front of her, and hadn't spoken a word during her explanation. Her description of her feelings upon returning to Las Vegas mirrored the same things he felt every time he came home. She believed he didn't understand, but he did. He understood more than he wanted to. He longed for ignorance because now he had to leave.

"Kayla, don't cry," He said softly. His hand reached out and wiped away a lone tear that slid slowly down her cheek. Her skin was still as soft as he remembered and his hand began to tremble. Her beautiful hazel eyes looked deep into his. He had to leave and she was letting him go just as he'd done all those years ago.

"Hotch gave me a few days of vacation. I'm going to stay here. I want to visit my mother and I want to spend time with you and Jessie, if you'll both have me."

She grinned happily through her tears and hugged him carefully. "I know you have to go eventually, but we have a few days…" She whispered in his ear, sending chills up his spine heralding the promise of something more.

"Yes… We have a few days. Maybe in the next couple of days, we can get Jessie to understand." He said hopefully, when Kayla let him go.

Kayla laughed and regarded him with real pity in her eyes. "Spencer Reid… You have a lot to learn about six year old girls."

"Oh I don't know… I think I remember well enough." He joked. She giggled and took his good hand in hers.

"Come on… let's go tell her you're staying around for a few days."

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The pile of paperwork on his desk was starting to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa when he finally returned to work ten days later. Hotch had told him he was on desk duty for a couple of weeks and he didn't argue.

He'd gone straight to Hotch's office upon arrival and the older agent was filling him in on the rest of the events in Las Vegas.

"…so Richard Curtis was himself and his wife. She was the dominant personality that did all the killing. He was the submissive that kidnapped the girls and tried to make them fit into his fantasy of a perfect life. He wanted his family back so badly, he tried to preserve his wife's body and find the perfect daughter for her," Hotch explained.

"Stephen Wainwright is being indicted for conspiracy to commit murder. He didn't have anything to do with Jessie's kidnapping; he just picked the wrong time to hire a hit man to take out Henry Sparks. Kayla's blaming herself for that too. She says she should have known what Wainwright was up to." Reid relayed what he'd learned before his return.

"It's not her fault. Politicians are almost impossible to profile, even for the experts like us. She didn't have a chance with a man like Steven Wainwright." Hotch assured Reid.

"I know, but she thinks she should have seen something. She says she's a pretty lousy press agent if she couldn't even sense something was wrong with her boss." Spencer told him.

"We only see what we want to see with those we're close to." Hotch said, and Reid nodded slowly. Yes… he knew what it was to overlook what you didn't want to see in yourself, your friends and loved ones.

"I checked up on Curtis before I left. He's still in a deep coma. They don't know if he'll come out of it. If he does, he'll be in an institution for the rest of his life." Reid informed his boss.

"I have some other information for you. Garcia found the boys that attacked you and Kayla. They're both in prison. They've continued their less then stellar life choices, and have been in and out of prison their whole adult lives.

"Thanks Hotch… I'll let Kayla know when I talk to her this weekend." Reid was standing up to leave when Hotch asked him about Kayla.

"So you're staying in contact with her."

Reid flushed and Hotch wanted to laugh. When would the young man accept that it was okay to have a social life?

"Yeah… I had to promise Jessie I would call every Sunday night. I send emails to Kayla." He added going even redder in the face.

"I'm glad; you need someone outside of all this." Hotch indicated their surroundings with a wave of his hand.

Yeah…" Reid's mind was not on what Hotch was saying, so the older agent told him to get back to work with an affectionate smile.

"Ah - okay…" Reid smiled widely and went back to his desk.

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A month had passed since his return to DC. His arm was back to full function and he'd returned to the field last week. Today they hadn't had a case and he was dealing with another large pile of file on his desk. He'd been at it for three hour straight and his injured arm was beginning to protest. It still ached every now and then, usually if he was under huge stress or had worked to hard for to long. He looked forlornly at the pile on his desk. It didn't look any shorter to him. Morgan had left saying something about a hot date. Emily had a date too, and JJ had disappeared somewhere. She was probably getting them more work.

He didn't look up when the elevator pinged. He didn't really hear it; he was so used to tuning out the background noise. If he could just get this last consult done, he could go home. He was mentally composing the email he was going to send to Kayla, when a small hand on his arm nearly gave him a heart attack.

He spun around and saw Jessie standing next to his desk, an ID badge pinned proudly to her tee shirt. "Hi Spencer!" She cried, throwing herself into his arms and lap, and talking a hundred miles an hour.

He looked up, bewildered, at Kayla, standing there looking beautiful in a pink blouse and gray slacks. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and she was smiling like he hadn't seen since they were ten.

"What…" He couldn't talk. How had they gotten to the BAU? Why were they here? Why wasn't he kissing her?

He looked at Jessie who was still babbling and eased her down to the floor. She started to protest, but he ignored her in favor of her mother.

"You look beautiful." It was the only thing he could think to say before catching her up in his arms and kissing her. An agent passed them and whistled. They sprang apart and Reid realized that JJ was standing there beaming at them.

"Hey…" A little hand yanked on his. He looked down at Jessie and she was frowning up at him.

"I'm sorry little miss," he told her. He lifted her up in his arms and kissed her cheek.

"We missed you lots and lots Spencer." She said throwing her arms wide.

"I missed you too." He said to her but looking at Kayla. She blushed and JJ laughed.

"I see your shoulder is all better." Spencer said to Jessie who was playing with his hair.

"Yeah… but mommy says I have to see another special doctor to help with exercises." She made a horrible face and Reid laughed.

"She's right; the doctor will help you get as good as new." He informed her. She looked like she didn't believe him at all.

She scrambled down from his arm when he told his arm hurt to. She grabbed his hand and kissed it. He went red and the traitorous women in front of him giggled.

"I don't understand. What are you doing here?" He decided to get the attention off him and Jessie.

"I'm moving here." Kayla said and Reid stared.

"What… How… Why…"

"Take a breath Spence." JJ said, still laughing.

"Yeah… mommy got a new job and we get to live here." Jessie said excitedly.

"That's great!" Reid told her. "I'm glad you're going to live here." Jessie giggled and turned pink.

"I've got a job with my old firm. They're even giving me a good raise. I would have come here anyway." Kayla told him. "I couldn't just let you walk out of my life again."

Reid flushed and JJ pried Jessie off him. "Jessie and I have a deal. She's going to stay with me tonight, aren't you?"

"Yeah… JJ said I could stay at her house. She gave mommy and me these badges and said we could see you at work." Jessie informed him.

"Thanks JJ…" He said, and she winked.

"Just have a good time. I'm going to have fun with my new friend." JJ said. She led the little girl away.

"How did they get to be such good friends?" Reid asked Kayla who'd taken his hand as she was watching her daughter skip away with JJ.

"JJ came to see me in the office before they came back to DC. She has a way with people, especially kids. She got me to open up about you in no time at all. She's called me several time and I've called her. She always talks to Jessie if I'm at home . I like her, we're becoming good friends, and I get to hear all about you." Kayla told him.

Reid went red again and Kayla promised him that JJ wasn't spilling any deep dark secrets. "She told me that the two of you used to be… well I know she cares about you and I'm glad."

"I care for her too, but not like I care for you." Reid said quietly.

"Good, because I'm never leaving again;" she kissed his cheek. "Now… why don't we get out of here?"

"Are you hungry?" He asked gathering up his jacket and his messenger bag.

"Yep…" She gave him a hot look and he dropped his jacket.

"You're so cute." She picked up the jacket and pulled him into the elevator, leaning in close to him, the messenger bag and jacket dropped to the floor as the elevator doors closed. "We'll worry about food later!"

THE END


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